This project addresses the lack of accessible data visualization education tools. We’re developing a user-friendly tool for beginners to enhance their data visualization skills. The research aims to create an easy-to-use platform, evaluated through user studies, to improve decision-making and analysis for individuals new to data visualization.

This project aims to develop AV simulation scenarios in the CARLA simulator with animal and pedestrian road actors. By creating scenarios with these road actors, the AV driving performance can be assessed in diverse scenarios that are likely to be encountered in real-world deployments. The driving assessment (DA) metrics are used to quantify the performance…

This research project ventures into the realm of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology with the objective of crafting a groundbreaking UAV design. This design aims to redefine conventional standards by offering a lightweight, cost-effective, and adaptable solution for data collection and surveillance applications. This endeavor incorporates cutting-edge electronics, precision GPS guidance, and advanced sensors, addressing…

This research addresses the feasibility and stability challenges of Model Predictive Control (MPC) in highly nonlinear systems, focusing on the use of terminal constraints and cost. Through a comprehensive literature review, it explores various approaches to guaranteeing MPC stability and feasibility. The study includes theoretical analysis and practical simulations using MATLAB and Simulink. The findings…

Lithium phosphorus oxynitride (LiPON) has gained attention as a potential solid-state battery electrolyte, offering advantages over traditional liquid electrolytes in lithium-ion batteries. This study examines various LiPON compositions in comparison to other solid electrolytes, focusing on their ionic conductivity — a key factor for solid-state electrolyte efficiency. Several external factors, including coating quality, solution preparation,…

The purpose of this research is to demonstrate the difference in the battery capacity in terms of Remaining Useful Life (RUL) depending on the storage temperature. Charging and discharging the secondary battery will be conducted with Galvanostatic Cycling with Potential Limitation (GCPL) and the Galvanostatic Intermittent Titration Technique (GITT) methods in different battery conditions and…

The topic involves theoretical findings regarding the development of terminal constraints and/or costs for non-overshooting Model Predictive Control (MPC) scheme. The researcher established two pathways to guarantee the stability and feasibility of the solution. The traditional methods of using terminal constraints to achieve stability and feasibility were briefly discussed and tested. The newer technique by…

This project involves designing a digital platform to enable student success for participants enrolled in ASU’s EASE program. During the spring semester, a survey was designed to gather feature suggestions from EASE mentors and mentees. Data gathered from this survey helped shape an early prototype of the platform. During the fall semester, efforts were focused…

Perovskite solar cells (PSC) have recently risen in popularity as a competitor to traditional silicon solar cells due to its potential for low-cost processing and tunability. All-inorganic CsPbI3 is a type of high bandgap perovskite that is more compositionally and thermally stable in comparison to their organic counterparts, making it ideal for tandem solar cells….

Currently, silicon solar cells are the industry standard for solar technology. However, perovskites solar cells (PSC) have recently proven to be a competitor due to its potential for low-cost processing and high efficiency. All-inorganic CsPbI3 is a group of perovskites that have been proven to be more compositionally and thermally stable in comparison to their…

This research aims to build and investigate virtual reality (VR) tools designed to enrich educational experiences. Key features of this work currently include a 3D graph visualizer, a student engagement tracker, a climate data globe, and stock market visualizer. By seamlessly integrating these features into the learning environment, this research aims to transform traditional education…

The improvement of semiconducting devices and the implementation of the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act (CHIPS and Science Act), facilitates the need to find an alternative to traditional silicon dioxide in semiconductors. High-k oxides have emerged as a promising material to enhance the performance and scaling down of semiconducting devices. High-k…

Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) can be used to enhance signal reception in wireless communications without consuming power from the grid. Future wireless communication systems will leverage millimeter waves (>30 GHz), sacrificing obstacle penetration for speed. RISs are large arrays of elements that can be controlled to create either a 0 or 180 degree reflected phase…

Demand and use of Lithium-Ion batteries have increased over time due to their application in electric vehicles and other clean energy technologies. Given the widespread use of Lithium-Ion batteries, enhancing their reusability and exploring second-life applications has become a major focus. In this research, Open Circuit Voltage (OCV) testing is performed on two different cathodes…

The moment of inertia of a body is the mass property that comes in when trying to accelerate/decelerate a body in rotation. It involves the total mass of the body but also how it is distributed around the point of rotation. Formulas to determine them are available for simple bodies, but for complex parts, e.g.,…

Engineering bacteria provides a sustainable route for the production of succinate, an important platform chemical. The E. coli strain KJ122 can produce up to 80 g/L succinate, but is potentially limited by the kinetics of the enzyme Pck, which carboxylates phosphoenolpyruvate using CO2 as a substrate. This project attempts to link Pck and a carbonic…

Designing variable passive devices comes with a set of challenges regarding parasitic effects. By saturating magnetic materials, the permeability can be modulated to achieve dynamic control of inductance based on AC inputs. However, measuring voltages and currents at the AC input risks the fidelity of the signal yet is necessary to induce a DC current…

The goal for this project is to genetically modify cyanobacteria such that they produce an excessive amount of the enzyme hydrogenase. This is achieved by replacing the natural promoter of hydrogenase genes with two powerful synthetic promoters, Pcpt and J23119. This will allow the altered strain to use hydrogen as an energy source to continue…

This research endeavors to revolutionize metal 3D printing through the optimization of control software. By harnessing C++ programming, we aim to precisely regulate printing speed and video projection, enabling the creation of intricate, high-resolution green parts. The project’s broader impact lies in the potential to usher in a new era of highly adaptable, metal-based 3D…

This study’s objective is to examine the viability of an adaptive maintenance system in semiconductor manufacturing using Deep Gaussian Processes (DGPs) and Reinforcement Learning (RL). This innovative approach could revolutionize maintenance procedures, offering proactive solutions that increase equipment reliability and reduce operational downtimes, providing substantial benefits to the semiconductor industry. The research may also open…

This research focuses on the usage of Random Forests, a machine learning approach, to predict droughts to help communities with water resource management. Leveraging meteorological data from the U.S. Drought Monitor — an authoritative drought assessment crafted by experts from diverse sources — and Landsat remotely sensed imagery, this study explores the feasibility of meteorological…

This research aims to study the air retention properties of Salvinia Molesta, a floating fern, by studying and mimicking its eggbeater structures. Employing electrically assisted vat photopolymerization, the objective is to study and improve the air retention capacity of the artificial superhydrophobic structures. By controlling MWCNTs (Multi Wall Carbon Nanotubes) concentration and their alignment during…

Perovskite (PVK) semiconductor materials show great promise for solar windows due to their tunable transparency. Two-dimensional (2D) PVK are more stable than other types but still lack the stability desired for windows. This work aims to enhance the electrical and mechanical properties of PVK by incorporating Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) into two different classes of 2D PVK—Ruddlesden-Popper…

DC motors in multirotor drones are typically controlled via Pulse Width Modulation signals. These signals, however, have varied frequencies at different battery percentages and constant control signals. This leads to difficulties in controlling motor forces while flying the drone. To address this issue, this research models the correlation between motor angular velocity and thrust. To…

Harnessing the power of ionic additives, our research studies Formamidinium lead iodide perovskite solar cells, a stable class of materials that is often difficult to process due to phase transitions to non-semiconductor phases. This research will tackle mobile ion migration, a key hurdle in perovskite technology with alkali cation additives that enable crystallization based on…

The ultra-wide bandgap (UWBG) semiconductor β-Ga2O3 has widely been celebrated during past decade, especially because of its wider bandgap of 4.9eV, high theoretical breakdown field of 8MV/cm and superior Baling’s Figure of Merit (BFOM) of 3444. Moreover, BFOM of β-Ga2O3 not only surpasses that of other wider bandgap (WBG) semiconductors like GaN and SiC by…

This project uses Ab Initio and Density Functional Theory, to simulate and predict light emission from triclinic silicon-germanium alloys. With atomic level simulations done on the Vienna Ab initio Simulation Package (VASP) of triclinic lattices to observe potential direct band gaps. With silicon light emission comes the viability of communication through photons, enabling data to…

While silicon modules have become the industry standard for solar energy, perovskite materials hold the potential for making high-efficiency, low-cost solar cells through solution processing of Earth-abundant materials. Interestingly, unmodified perovskite inks suitable for small-scale laboratory production yield poor results when processed with scalable methods like blade coating. This research aims to study the effects…

Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) have achieved remarkable success in image recognition and classification. However, prevailing network architectures demonstrate constraints regarding the input resolution they can process effectively. This study introduces an approach that leverages implicit neural representations extracted from images at varying resolutions as input to neural networks. Such a methodology is particularly advantageous for…

Polymers are widely used for bone tissue engineering but none have been used for bone fixation. Only silk fibroin (SF) is being considered due to its superior mechanical properties among polymers. In this study, cocoons produced by silkworms, were degummed, dissolved, dialyzed and centrifuged to recover SF after which its morphology, functional groups and mechanical…

It is hypothesized that time-dependent analysis of enzymatic digestion incubation used to dissociate cells from the surrounding tissue scaffold will reveal optimal digestion time. This study has two primary objectives: firstly, to ascertain the most effective enzymatic digestion duration that enhances cell yield and viability; secondly, to employ flow cytometry for the comprehensive characterization of…

The research involves domestically farming Bombyx mori silkworms from egg to cocoon stage, extracting of natural silk from the cocoons, and examining its degradation rates. Using natural silk as a biomaterial in fracture fixation devices like bone screws can facilitate the healing of fractured bones, retain the mechanical strength of the newly formed bone tissue,…

There is an unmet clinical need for non-metallic, orthopedic surgical implant fixation devices. The present study focuses on the development of a calcium phosphate bioceramic, hydroxyapatite (HA) that has the desired mechanical strength to replace metal biomaterials. Among the different techniques to synthesize HA, sol-gel technology is the most versatile materials engineering process to form…

The standard approach of discovering thermoelectric materials is costly and very complex. In this current study, Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) will be utilized to select elements and determine the compositions. GNNs use message passing to organize graphs so machine learning algorithms can use them. With the knowledge that machine learning can extract, the key characteristics…

Students are increasingly using automated summary tools such as ChatGPT in order to quickly analyze the exponentially increasing volume of information they have access to for research projects. This project seeks to build an automated tool using ChatGPT that builds more accurate, concise, and digestible summaries in the form of mind maps, which are graphical…

The objective of this research project is to use a software defined radio (SDR) to build a wideband channel estimation dataset and show its usage with machine learning algorithms to predict channels and localize users for fast and latency-intolerant communications. The researchers use tools developed by existing literature to understand the dynamics of channel estimation….

Photocatalytic nanoparticles are an attractive solution for renewable energy production because of their ability to produce hydrogen fuel using only sunlight and water. To increase the efficiency of these photocatalysts, it is theorized that rhodium atoms must be uniformly doped within the nanoparticles. To confirm if the dopant distributions are uniform, scanning transmission electron microscopy…

The goal of this research is to determine if β-ketoadipate (βKA), a chemical compound, can be produced from an engineered strain of Corynebacterium glutamicum when fed lignin-derived aromatics. This study attempts to determine the effects on βKA production when the strain is fed varying aromatics and also looks to investigate how metabolism of the strain…

Discrete Music Language Models have the ability to generate musical pieces with various genres in discrete formats such as MIDI and piano roll, which offers more flexibility and customizability. Meanwhile, recent works show that current Discrete Music Language Models have limitations when it comes to the relationship between text and music domains, which raises challenges…

The research team is investigating the efficacy and accuracy of the application of an artificially made, stretchable metamaterial designed with specific electromagnetic properties. The conductive metamaterial is designed to be worn by a patient inside a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine. Its performance will be measured by its ability to increase the magnetic field intensity…

This research aims to engineer DNA constructs with glucose-inducible promoters for the expression of targeted marker proteins inside Escherichia Coli. J23100-CAP, CAP1-ptsG, pCAR, J23110-MLC4, and MLC4-J23110 are the promoter base combination that will be chosen for the study. The catabolite activator protein appears in the first two promoters and will be compared with the rest…

Quaternary ammonium-containing sorbents have significant potential in direct air capture (DAC) of CO2. In DAC sorbents, the adsorption of CO2 can occur at lower concentrations, which allows for mitigation of global warming caused by the excess CO2 already in the atmosphere. The project investigates the modification of textiles into polymer@textile composite membranes with improved mechanical…

As the automobile industry transitions toward deploying automated vehicles, lingering concerns exist about safety and public trust. To attain public trust, it is imperative to first establish the safety of the AVs through a safety case-based framework. This project focuses on a component of the framework, scenario-based testing to assess the performance of the AV…

Currently, autograft and allograft bones are the only options for treating bone loss, however, they pose many limitations. Immunomodulatory alpha-ketoglutarate (aKG) is of interest due to its ability to modulate osteoblast and osteoclast activity. By generating polymeric microparticles with aKG (paKG MPs), the release of aKG can be sustained upon degradation. The formulation of paKG…

This research project seeks to introduce a fresh dimension to the field of Domain Generalization (DG) in computer vision. It aims to achieve this by developing a unique benchmark dataset composed of scenes from video games. Unlike current benchmarks, our dataset encompasses transitional phases in video game graphics. The project encompasses data gathering, data refinement,…

This research project addresses the financial challenge data acquisition devices (DAQ) pose in water quality monitoring. DAQ systems are essential because data collection involves numerous sensors that output multiple signal types. However, they are often cost-prohibitive and hamper access to effective monitoring, obstructing water quality assessments globally. This research project aims to develop a universal…

AddressSanitizer (ASAN) is a widely used memory error detector, but it can cause time and memory overhead. The objective of this research is to understand ASAN better and to find solutions to make it more efficient. The research team has identified how shadow memory works and is currently working to identify the components of the…

Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) has been extensively used to determine the mechanical properties of materials ranging from ceramics to living soft tissue. There is an increasing use of AFM for the characterization of biological structures, which has resulted in new diagnostic techniques. However, the effects of cell size, substrate and inclusion presence on AFM measurements…

This research project aims to enhance photoacoustic imaging (PAI) of chemical nanosensor diffusion by investigating the intrathecal injection of contrast agents in rats. The objective is to improve the delivery of these nanosensors through the blood-brain barrier while maintaining sensitivity and specificity in PAI detection. By optimizing nanosensor delivery and developing stable PAI probes, this research has…

As some modern wearable devices are being innovated, it becomes essential to utilize flexible batteries. Normal batteries are rigid and may not be a good fit for some of these devices. Flexible batteries should come across intense movements and be able to supply power effectively. The battery is sealed in a polymer packaging material to…

The research team is developing an algorithmic approach for changepoint detection to segment complex, long-horizon tasks into smaller, more manageable subtasks for robot learning. By utilizing statistical testing methods and video encoding models, we aim to reduce computational complexity and enable efficient learning in high-dimensional robotics domains. The anticipated outcomes include precise task segmentation, successful…

Rotary drums are used in industries such as cement, pharmaceuticals, and other particulate sectors; thus, research on various parameters will increase operating efficiency and lead to energy savings. The current study focused on the effect of particle size on radiation heat transfer inside a rotary drum. The rotation rate was varied from 2-10 RPM with…

This research study aims to enhance the Mixed-Mode Bending (MMB) method developed for reducing the effects of delamination in composite materials. Despite several revisions of previous research studies, the strain energy release rates and geometric nonlinearities that arise remain significant. As such, this study will attempt to address these challenges and develop a standardized technique…

This project explores optimal pin fin employment and density for heat sink applications in harsh environments. Heat sinks are used to manage heat dissipation on electronics under thermal loads. Heat sinks are commonly used in central processing units (CPUs) in computers because when running heavy processing programs, computers tend to heat up, which can lead…

This research proposal focuses on using open-air plasma technology to reduce metal oxidation in semiconductor components that can degrade performance, specifically in printed circuit boards (PCBs). The open-air plasma system utilizes a blown arc discharge to generate reactive species and convective heat, enabling rapid oxide reduction on metal surfaces (i.e., copper, tin, and nickel). Characterization…

The project consists of aiding the development of an innovative design for helical microrobots by creating a magnetic field generating device. Since the microrobots being developed are magnetic, a magnetic field will aid in testing by creating a rotating magnetic field that actuates the robots, and in manufacturing by aligning the ferrous particles during 3D…

This semester’s project was designed to enhance the performance of last semester’s anti-perovskite films as solid-state electrolytes for use in battery cells, and focused on characterizing lithium oxygen nitrate, Li3ONO3. Thin films of this material were created by dissolving lithium nitrate, lithium oxide and ethanol, then blade coating the solution onto silicon substrates. After sintering,…

This research examines the correlation between a language model’s uncertainty — quantified via “diversity measures” — and its reasoning abilities. The research team evaluates aspects of the model’s diversity measures that are strong indicators of it being correct. Doing this provides valuable insights into the capabilities of language models and allows users to further improve…

Resonant-Assisted Deposition (RAD) is an emerging metal additive manufacturing technology that shapes metal wire to form three-dimensional objects. Fundamentally, the physics of this solid-state technique utilizes mechanical energy in the form of small-frequency oscillatory strains to soften metals for forming and joining of voxels into 3D parts line by line and layer by layer. The…

With limited fresh water available on Earth, pollutants such as fertilizer run-off and sewage create high nutrient levels of nitrogen and phosphorus that threaten the future of safe, drinkable water. One way to remove and recover these nutrients from water includes adsorption using activated carbon. Algae biomass is a cheap and fast-growing carbon source that…

Huge pretrained Artificial Intelligence models have become ubiquitous in various Perception based tasks. Although it is not always possible to deploy such models or even train such models, even partially when the task is to apply them to new use cases, especially in the field of vision. Therefore, it is of considerable interest that new…

With limited water resources readily available it is pertinent to discover new ways of filtering water to provide clean water resources to communities. To filter water more efficiently these processes were tested. Polymerization induced phase separation is a process that takes a small monomer of a liquid crystal and combines chemically to form a bigger…

Can solar power be more efficiently extracted from a reconfigurable array by minimizing the number of switches, and allowing for maximum configuration flexibility? This research motivation stems from spacecraft solar systems where array performance can degrade from 20% to 50% over a 15-year mission. This research seeks to bypass damaged cells by reconfiguring the array…

Accurate prediction of T cell receptor (TCR)-epitope binding results is crucial for personalized healthcare and immunotherapy. However, encoding TCR amino acid sequences into numerical representations remains challenging. A recent study demonstrated that catELMo, a bidirectional-LSTM-based model, outperformed Transformer-based models prevalent in Natural Language Processing. In this project, the reasons behind catELMo’s superior performance were investigated,…

This research seeks to identify optimal pin fin shapes that minimize flow pressure drop and maximize heat transfer performance under varying heat loads and investigate the influence of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) parameters. The overarching goal is to uncover innovative pin fin configurations using a genetic algorithm, diverging from conventional circular cylindrical designs, while also…

This project seeks to examine the effect of different levels of functionalization of a polydimethylsiloxane-based (PDMS) membrane on the efficacy of the membrane in removing contaminants from water. The separation method being studied in this project is pervaporation, and the efficacy of the membranes will be gauged by permeance, flux, and selectivity when removing organic…

This research project explores the creation of interactive cybersecurity challenges tailored to enhance student skills and interest, spotlighting phone phreaking techniques like the Blue Box and the 2600 Hz exploit. Phone phreaking, born from a blend of technical curiosity, exploration, and a desire for cost-free communication, played a pivotal role in the history of telecommunications….

In this study, the objective is to determine how annealing VO2 at high temperatures affects the phase transition temperature and the change in transmittance between the metallic and insulating phases. The transmittance of VO2 films doped with different levels of tungsten annealed at different temperatures was tested at a range of temperatures to determine this…

The semiconductor industry — among others — produces products with nanoscale-level precision, and inclusions and other particles within those products affect their macro- and micro-scale material properties. To improve products, particles and the surrounding material must be examined and analyzed. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a powerful technique that has been used to characterize such…

This research investigates the metabolic programs and alterations in glycolysis that influence neural development in distinct neural cell types. By studying gene expression changes of glycolysis genes in neural organoids, derived from human pluripotent stem cells, the research team aims to understand the normal function of metabolism in the development of human progenitors and neurons…

Harnessing kinetic energy from everyday movement can revolutionize various fields, from prosthetics to smartphones. This project focuses on effective optimization and the amplification of kinetically charged batteries, unlocking the possibility of extended use of devices between charges. The setup size was a constraint on the end product, as it needs to be portable and versatile…

Analyzing neural signals in Wernicke’s area and the Face Motor Cortex during speech to understand language processing. Using a dataset from an epilepsy patient, this research examines correlations between speech perception and production. The study aims to uncover common trends in speech processing, identify speakers, and explore the relationship between the Wernicke’s area and Face…

The study will use three objective measurements (speed, posture, and heart rate variability) to make a model that allows for a short-term prediction of the consequences following a canine spay or neuter surgery. These consequences will be called negative post-surgical outcomes which include death and illness. The researchers posit that change in these movement variability…

The primary objective of this research is to design, construct, and evaluate magnetic robots capable of conducting early diagnosis, surgery, drug delivery, and various other medical procedures within the human body. Robotic surgery and rehabilitation have become prevalent in medical centers today. Magnetic robots, in particular, hold immense potential for medical diagnosis and treatment. These…

Multirotors are used in applications such as surveillance, search and rescue, and package delivery. However, close-proximity flights near surfaces affect stability and performance. Of the Surface Effects (SE), only ground effect has been studied in depth, however this project aims to build a comprehensive SE model using a hexarotor fixed onto a force/torque sensor. An adjustable…

Lithium lanthanum zirconium oxide (LLZO) is a solid-state battery electrolyte that will provide an excellent comparison to its competitor, lithium-ion batteries, which use liquid electrolytes. In this research, various forms of LLZO along with other solid-state battery electrolyte materials will be used to study ionic conductivity and adhesion properties. These parameters are important to observe…

This research proposal focuses on using open-air plasma technology to reduce metal oxidation in semiconductor components that can degrade performance, specifically in printed circuit boards (PCBs). The open-air plasma system utilizes a blown arc discharge to generate reactive species and convective heat, enabling rapid oxide reduction on metal surfaces (i.e., copper, tin, and nickel). Characterization…

Type I Diabetes Mellitus (T1D) is a chronic, life-long condition in which a patient’s pancreatic beta cells fail to produce sufficient amounts of insulin, leading to hyperglycemia or high blood sugar levels. Typical treatments involve frequent monitoring via continuous glucose monitors (CGM) or blood glucose monitors followed by daily insulin injections. Optimized synthetic or natural…

Drone imagery has produced accurate two-dimensional maps, elevation models, thermal maps, and three-dimensional maps. The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), also known as drones, has become ubiquitous in various civil engineering applications such as bridge inspection, building construction progress, monitoring, erosion control, etc. Artificial intelligence and deep learning brought further added value to the…

This research harnesses Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) to predict agricultural droughts, a costly disaster affecting food security and the environment. By analyzing two-dimensional remote sensing data, CNNs offer a novel approach. Aligned with the themes of Data and Sustainability, this study aims to enhance data-driven decision-making and mitigate climate change-related hazards. The anticipated outcome is…

This research study aims to enhance the Mixed-Mode Bending (MMB) method developed for reducing the effects of delamination in composite materials. Despite several revisions, the strain energy release rates and geometric nonlinearities that arise remain significant. As such, the study will attempt to address these challenges and develop a standardized technique to improve interlaminar fracture…

The improvement of semiconducting devices, coupled with the implementation of the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act (CHIPS and Science Act), facilitates the need to find an alternative to traditional silicon dioxide in semiconductors. High-k oxides have emerged as a promising material to enhance the performance and scaling down of semiconducting devices….

This research project aims to provide a new challenge to Domain Generalization (DG) in computer vision by creating a novel benchmark dataset made from video game scenes. Research project benchmark uses transitional generations of video game graphics as image domains unlike existing benchmarks. The project involves data collection, data cleaning, and manual annotation. Once the…

Accurate prediction of T cell receptor (TCR)-epitope binding results is crucial for personalized healthcare and immunotherapy. However, encoding TCR amino acid sequences into numerical representations remains challenging. A recent study demonstrated that catELMo, a bi-LSTM-based model, outperformed Transformer-based models prevalent in Natural Language Processing. In this project, we investigate the reasons behind catELMo’s superior performance,…

This project examines the impact of dopants on the energy and conductivity of Gallium Oxide (Ga2O3) through density functional theory simulations. The lowest energy state likely to exist in nature is sought in combination with the highest conductivity to identify the optimal pairing. The results indicate the potential for customized material design, as specific dopants…

This research examines the performance of a large-language model known as GPT-3.5 in solving math word problems. The research team evaluates aspects of the model’s response that are strong indicators of it being correct. Doing this provides valuable insights into the capabilities of GPT-3.5 in tackling mathematical problem-solving tasks and allows the researchers to better…

This project studies the effectiveness of how iron hydroxide impacts the rotations of the micro-helices and its structure’s durability. Iron hydroxide in liquid polymer resin is placed under a magnetic field to form the helix. The helix is printed one layer at a time. The magnetic field alignment varies by each layer, which results in…

Due to perovskite’s direct band gap, perovskites are more efficient than silicon and can be produced at lower thicknesses. The lightweight possibilities of perovskites allow for flexible devices to be made. To learn more about flexible perovskites, perovskite ink is deposited on a plastic substrate. Once perovskite films on plastic are made, the external radiative…

This project seeks to examine the effect of different levels of functionalization of a polydimethylsiloxane-based (PDMS) membrane on the efficacy of the membrane in removing contaminants from water. The separation method being studied in this project is pervaporation, and the efficacy of the membranes will be gauged by permeance, flux, and selectivity when removing organic…

The study will use three objective measurements (speed, posture, and heart rate variability) to make a model that allows for a short-term prediction of the consequences following a canine spay or neuter surgery. These consequences will be called negative post-surgical outcomes, which include death and illness. The researchers posit that change in these movement variability…

The primary objective of this research is to design, construct, and evaluate magnetic robots capable of conducting early diagnosis, surgery, drug delivery, and various other medical procedures within the human body. Robotic surgery and rehabilitation have become prevalent in medical centers today. Magnetic robots, in particular, hold immense potential for medical diagnosis and treatment. These…

This work is aimed toward improving equipment reliability and power density of critical solar photovoltaic microinverter technology by replacing old DC link capacitor banks commonly comprised entirely of passive electrolytic capacitors (ECs), which detriment the achievable power density and reliability of the microinverter. These DC link EC banks, however, provide an essential energy storage function…

This research investigates the metabolic programs and alterations in glycolysis that influence neural development in distinct neural cell types. By studying gene expression changes of glycolysis genes in neural organoids, derived from human pluripotent stem cells, the research team aims to understand the normal function of metabolism in the development of human progenitors and neurons…

With limited water resources readily available it is pertinent to discover new ways of filtering water to provide clean water resources to communities. To filter water more efficiently, crosslinked liquid crystals leave pores after exposure to light creating high hierarchical porous structures. These pores are then categorized through image processing which can measure the area,…

The measurement of ketones (FDA-approved fat oxidation biomarkers) allows for proactive weight management interventions, as well as for the management of conditions such as diabetes, obesity, anorexia, epilepsy, and more. There is a limited selection of ketone sensors available, many of which are extremely invasive (involving blood or urine tests) and tend to only measure…

The objective of this research project is to use a software defined radio (SDR) to implement a wireless communication receiver to decode cellular communications. We use existing open source fourth generation (4G) cellular receiver architecture found in the literature to understand the characteristics of 4G communications. We then identify the similarities with 5G communications in an…

Currently, silicon solar cells are the industry standard for solar technology. However, the perovskite (PVSK) photosensitive semiconductor family of materials has recently proven to be a competitor due to its potential for low-cost processing and high efficiency. Inorganic PVSK is a group of PVSK that have been determined by researchers to be more compositionally and…

Students are increasingly using automated summary tools such as ChatGPT in order to quickly analyze the exponentially increasing volume of information they have access to for research projects. This project seeks to build an automated tool using ChatGPT that builds more accurate, concise, and digestible summaries in the form of mind maps, which are graphical…

E. coli cells are great for creating proteins as they are stable and reproduce rapidly. Putting plasmids into E. coli cells and causing certain parameters to happen within the cell will allow the E. coli to produce proteins that involve putting in a stop codon in place of another amino acid. Looking at the proteins…

Remaining useful life (RUL) of rechargeable batteries can decay permanently when they are exposed to high temperature due to undesired material degradation. In this project, the research team investigates the effects of storage temperature in RUI by exposing one group of 40 mAh capacity rechargeable lithium-ion button-type batteries to room temperature (25℃), and one to…

This project seeks to advance the Weaver Lab’s placenta-on-a-chip project. This microfluidic, 3D-printed chip will be used to evaluate human placental dynamics in vitro. The chip is printed using a FormLabs 3+ Printer with clear resin and conjoined through thermal adhesion with a microscope slide, after which the team will sterilize the chip so that…

Engineered Escherichia coli strains optimized for malate and succinate fermentation have the capacity to fix significant amounts of CO2. To overcome conventional mass transfer limitations, our research team is exploring the alternative delivery of CO2 to bioreactors via hollow-fiber membranes. A bioreactor is a reactor that sustains and supports life for cells and tissue cultures….

The system uses lidar and camera sensors in combination with an object detection model to identify vehicles and determine their distance from the sensor system. The purpose of this research project is to aid drivers in recognizing potential road hazards, and the technology could potentially be integrated into a car’s safety system to help prevent…

Crosslinked polydiene elastomers are a class of synthetic rubbers that are widely used in numerous fields because they offer a broad range of chemical and physical properties that are tunable based on varying building blocks and crosslink density. Conventional polydiene elastomers are permanently crosslinked and cannot be reprocessed or reused after the product’s lifetime. The…

The purpose of this project is to design a digital platform to enable student success for participants enrolled in ASU’s EASE program. For this spring semester, a survey created by the research team was taken by both EASE student mentors and mentees to rate the perceived usefulness of potential features to include in the digital…

Fossil fuels are the most common source for energy. However, fossil fuels are not sustainable. As such, the purpose of this research is to develop an alternative fuel source that can be derived from sustainable materials. Sewage sludge can undergo hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) to produce crude oil, char, and a gas phase. The biofuel can…

To pursue technology like AI, curtail power losses, and combat global warming, it is imperative to transition from silicon devices to ultrawide bandgap (ex AlN or Ga2O3) devices. This project explores solutions to help make this transition and build a better energy future. The aim of this project is to help solve challenges inhibiting ultrawide…

Electrochemical sensors are a powerful tool for real-time measurement of target analytes of significance for different fields including environmental monitoring, clinical diagnostics, or even food technology. Implementation of sensors may require flexible adaptation to challenging geometries, especially when considering online monitoring and in vivo applications. Conductive polymers are unique sustainable materials that can collect electrical…

Petroleum hydrocarbon pollution is a ubiquitous threat to public and environmental health. Current EPA regulations require measurements of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) for determining whether a contaminated site has been adequately remediated. State and federally mandated methods for measuring TPH are unable to discriminate between petroleum generated via drilling and distribution, and compounds generated from…

Electrophysiology is a powerful technique for the examination of neuronal activity. Previously, a microscope-independent fluorescent-guided electrophysiology system was developed to track neurons for patch-clamping. However, the pressure system did not possess dynamic responses, only providing several options for pressure. By creating a proportional-integral-derivative (PID)-controlled pressure system to integrate into the pre-existing LabVIEW code for the…

The increase in impervious surfaces in urban areas leads to more flooding and groundwater issues. Permeable pavement systems (PPS) are considered one of the solutions to manage stormwater runoff volumes and help increase groundwater infiltration. As a result, these can also reduce evaporation and urban heat island mitigation. Hydraulic design and characterization of permeability characteristics…

Perovskite materials, such as lead titanate (PbTiO3), have emerged as a promising candidate for memory devices due to their exceptional ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties. Ferroelectric memory devices based on perovskite materials offer several advantages over conventional memory devices, including low power consumption, fast switching speeds, and high-density data storage. One of the key advantages of…

Flavonoids, aromatic organic molecules, have several properties that make them of pharmaceutical interest. By using metabolic engineering, Corynebacterium glutamicum (C. glutamicum) can be engineered to produce flavonoids from toxic aromatic monomers. By exposing C. glutamicum to high concentrations of these monomers, cells with appropriate mutations will outcompete those that received harmful mutations. Through this process,…

This research explores potential methods to synthesize lithium phosphorous oxynitride (LiPON) in three solution-based approaches: spin coating, doctor blade coating, and spray coating. With the challenge being nitrogen incorporation, precursor inks with nitrogen-containing compounds, nonthermal nitrogen plasma are also explored. Ionic conductivity measurement and x-ray diffraction are conducted to compare with current approaches. This sheds…

Industrial emissions contribute greatly to the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere. The development of new technologies to limit CO2 release is therefore a top priority for researchers. Monoethanolamine (MEA) is an organic compound that can be used to capture CO2 via chemical absorption in a process known as amine gas scrubbing. MEA does this…

Multi-material 3D printing as an additive manufacturing technique is growing in importance as a way to produce unique materials in a more sustainable fashion. Current processes are slow and require an inert environment free of oxygen and moisture. Furthermore, these final products are not easily reprocessed. This research explores creative methods to expedite light-controlled RAFT…

The main objective of this research project was to develop a computationally efficient motion planner that optimizes task efficiency and is collision averse. The motion planner incorporates 2D vehicle dynamics and produces trajectories that mirror human driving patterns. The accuracy and efficiency of the developed motion planner were evaluated through an interactive human driver dataset…

Recent literature has highlighted the growing capability of printing the electrolyte layer of ceramic solid oxide fuel cells using additive manufacturing techniques, primarily to reduce manufacturing costs. The electrolyte layer allows the passage of oxygen ions to complete an electrochemical reaction. One previous study details an ink recipe that was able to create tall pillar…

The mental health of higher-education faculty is widely ignored in research. K-12 studies report high rates of mental health conditions and the negative impact this has on student outcomes (Parrish, 2022). The objective of this project is to quantify rates of mental health issues in this population and the resulting impact on pedagogical outcomes. A…

Artificial cells mimic biological systems where biological materials are encapsulated by a thin membrane. Artificial cells are difficult to manufacture because of the complexity of intracellular compartments. This project studies the use of acoustic levitation to print single-core or multi-core artificial cells. Acoustic levitation is a contactless printing method, which provides new opportunities for manufacturing…

The slurry casting method used in the fabrication of silicon electrodes for commercial batteries restricts the shape and design of the electrodes. In contrast, 3D printing technology allows for the creation of customized and miniaturized electrode designs with complex features and configurations. This research aims to overcome the limitations of conventional battery manufacturing methods by…

This project aims to develop an end-to-end machine learning pipeline that utilizes predicted protein structure from AlphaFold to estimate T Cell Receptor (TCR)-Epitope binding affinity. It has been long known that the exact structural composition of proteins is a major factor in the outcome of protein-to-protein interactions. Recent work at Google resulted in the creation…

Hydrogen (H2) fuel-cell cars can greatly reduce carbon emissions that are produced by fossil fuels and automobiles. Future energy strategies must include the use of hydrogen as a carrier for energy. However, issues with hydrogen storage limit its use as an energy carrier in vehicles and portable electronics. A great scientific and growing societal challenge…

Perovskite solar cells have seen one of the fastest improvements in the class of renewable energy in the past decade and they have shown a tremendous improvement in terms of efficiency and cost-effectiveness. This research is focused on improving operational stability by adding ionic additives to limit undesirable ionic motion while promoting desirable electronic motion…

There is a lack of statistical analysis on advanced nanocomposite systems’ anisotropic heterogeneous nanoscale properties. This study will focus on the statistical analysis using the nanoscale properties collected with atomic force microscopy (AFM) based peak force quantitative nanomechanical mapping technique (PFQNM). Atomic Force Microscopy testing is an ultra-precise method of PFQNM at the nano/micro level…

Uranium Silicide (U3Si2) offers several advantages over the typical nuclear fuel Uranium Oxide (UO2), but it is too brittle to be used safely. In this study, the effects of dopants on the plasticity and fracture behavior of U3Si2 will be investigated through the surrogate Zr3Si2 based on the hypothesis that the addition of aluminum will…

Accurate prediction of the binding affinity between T cell receptor (TCR) and antigen pairs is essential for developing immunotherapy strategies. Historically, prediction models considered only the complementary-determining region 3 (CDR3) of the beta chain of the TCR, but recent developments have shown that incorporating more regions of the TCR in the prediction model can lead…

The question that this project seeks to address is: How does temperature cycling affect the operational stability of perovskite solar cells? With the high cost of silicon solar cell production, there is an opportunity arising in the manufacturing of cells with a particular molecular structure called perovskite. A fundamental aspect of solar panels is their…

This study uses DFT to find the reaction path of chlorine reduction to hypochlorite on various metal oxides in hopes of finding a less expensive catalyst for chlorine reduction than IrO2. The metal oxide alternatives should be stable, have a band gap of zero, and have a tetragonal structure in order to closely resemble IrO2….

50% of engineering students screen positive for a mental health disorder, compared to only 37% of non-engineering majors who screen positive. There have not been studies to show what type of teaching method professors can use in their classrooms to help their students through the rigorous coursework. The study’s objective is to identify which persuasive…

Supervised learning tasks rely on training data to make predictions and often assume them to be balanced and representative of real-world data. This proposal studies the effectiveness of notions of fairness like Equalized Odds (EO) and Equal Opportunity (EOP) in presence of label bias. We aim to discover hidden fair labels through probabilistic modeling and…

As detrimental legal, environmental, economic, or political events continue to be present in modern society, it becomes important to predict these activities before they occur. Studying the growing global buyer-supply network provides a unique approach in determining and predicting certain outcomes, as trade directly describes the health of industries, and thus by extension the welfare…

The recent and rapid development of virtual reality technology has had a big impact in the entertainment industry. However, its benefits can likewise be reaped in educational settings by designing immersive learning experiences that enable engagement, strengthen understanding and improve retention of content. Facilitating the adoption of VR within classrooms requires bridging the instructors’ traditional…

In this work, we explore a novel approach to improving behavior-based swarm control using partially specified human preferences. In order to address concerns about human-robot safety, we plan to incorporate human feedback in the form of user preferences over short clips of swarm behavior from non-expert users. To provide users with better expressiveness while specifying…

The objective of the research was to find an efficient, simple and cost-effective way of performing beam steering of an antenna array. Creating a prototype of the active matrix memory module on a breadboard showed the possibility of this simple design. The simulations of the antenna array have shown promising results at the specified frequency….

For the first half of the semester, a literature review has been conducted. The interphase in nanocomposites determines the mechanical properties of the bulk material. Properly characterizing the extent and properties of the interphase can be challenging due to the stress interaction effect. David W. Collinson et al. developed a novel method to determine if…

The Resistance Spot Welding technique has been widely employed in automotive and aeronautical industries. The advantages of utilizing this technique are that it is low cost, employs a high amount of current at low voltage, has high speed, and is reliable. RSW reduces weight while preserving strength. Defects commonly occur in the process, limiting its…

In our work, we evaluated different interpolation methods to enable the reconstruction of Synthetic Aperture Sonar (SAS) images from limited angular measurements. If it succeeds, this work will inform practitioners and researchers to reconstruct SAS images with good fidelity, even with limited measurements. For future work, we foresee benefits in approaching the problem using more…

This study presents an evaluation of predicted flow behavior and the minimum outlet diameter in a computationally simulated hopper. The Department of Energy’s MFiX software was used to create an industrial stainless-steel hopper using experimental data from an FT4 Rheometer, in accordance with Jenike’s hopper design methodology. A total of five size fractions and twelve…

Conductive Atomic Force Microscopy (CAFM), is an accurate technique to characterize material properties of the nanomembrane of soft polymers. CAFM is performed by inserting an electric current within a CAFM probe. In this research the nanomembrane of soft polymers with nanoparticles is on rigid substrates, the effect of the rigid substrate on the nanomembrane will…

The author will propose research investigating multiple heterogeneous materials’ micro- and nano-mechanical characterizations in the plastic region using Nanoindentation and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). This research will address the mechanical properties and attempt to find a relationship between the stress fields evaluated at multiple scales. Investigating nanomechanical properties is key to developing materials that are…

Fall risk is a public health concern that affects older populations. The purpose of this study is to understand if an athletic background as a younger adult decreases fall risk. A separate study must be conducted to understand if those results translate to older populations. In this study, fall risk was measured between younger adult…

The conventional approach of discovering thermoelectric materials from an essentially infinite universe of chemical compounds includes costly and time-consuming studies. In the current study, thermoelectric properties (labels) and descriptors (features) of a group of substances are calculated using density functional theory (DFT) simulations. With the knowledge that machine learning (ML) can extract the key characteristics…

Pancreatic islet encapsulation is a prospective methodology for reversing Type I diabetes (TID) by protecting beta cells from immune-cell destruction through a synthetic non-degradable hydrogel barrier. Strain-promoted alkyne-azide cycloaddition (SPAAC) PEG hydrogels, utilizing copper-free click chemistry crosslinkers, show comparable baseline biocompatibility to thiol-maleimide PEG hydrogels. RGD, an extracellular matrix (ECM) peptide, greatly improves the metabolic…

Perovskites (PVK) are novel semiconducting materials that can be engineered to develop semitransparent semiconductors for use in solar window applications. This work revolves around modifying the cation and anion composition in methylammonium lead iodide (MAPI3) PVK to increase the transparency and stability of the material. Introducing bromine, a smaller anion increases transparency but has adverse…

With issues due to climate change rising, the global market is shifting to environmentally friendly energy sources. Hydrogen is a prime candidate because it does not give out any harmful emissions. When hydrogen is stored in metallic containers, the hydrogen molecules diffuse into the material, and this makes it more brittle by propagating cracks. This…

Hexavalent uranium (U(VI)) industrial processing typically requires chlorinated solvents and CAHs, such as tetrachloroethene (PCE), for the purpose of cleaning machinery. Because of this, the co-contamination of U(VI) and PCE can be found at several Superfund sites. Geobacter lovleyi strain SZ is the only reductive bacteria identified as being capable of reducing PCE to 1,2-cis-Dichloroethene…

Asymmetrical walking is an indicator of unhealthy biomechanics that not only restricts movement but also disrupts posture and balance. This research aims toward improving the existing rehabilitation processes for post-stroke patients with asymmetrical walking by investigating the phenomenon of entrainment (synchronization of rhythms) and implementing it using a flexible, pneumatically controlled fabric-based actuator to improve…

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive brain disorder destroying memory and cognition, with no sustaining treatment. AD can be studied using human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and genomic modification strategies to create loss-of-function genes. Clusterin, or APOJ, is the third-greatest genetic risk factor for late-onset AD. To create an APOJ loss of function mutation, BIG-TREE,…

Photocatalytic nanoparticles can split water molecules using sunlight for renewable energy production. To increase the efficiency of these photocatalysts, rhodium atoms must be uniformly doped into the photocatalysts. In order to confirm whether or not the photocatalyst has been uniformly doped, scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) coupled with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) has been…

Zeolites are crystals with large, cage-like structures that contain aluminum, silicon, phosphorus, and other elements. They are commonly used in industry as reactor catalysts or moisture absorbents. However, zeolites that contain metals in their frameworks have been shown by computer algorithms to absorb oxygen at low temperatures and pressures, giving them the possible use for…

Due to increased energy demand, finding new alternative energy sources is now vital, and establishing a renewable energy source is a major challenge. Increasing the photosynthetic efficiency of phototrophic microorganisms, however, is important for meeting human needs. The primary cause of decreased energy conversion efficiency in living cells is susceptibility to leakage in electron transport…

With rising concerns about climate change and the scarcity of fossil fuels, employing sustainable methods to generate carbon-based compounds is a must. One way of achieving this goal is through cyanobacteria. The high photosynthetic efficiency of these prokaryotes makes them suitable biorefineries for sustainable production. One limitation factor of photosynthetic efficiency is cyanobacteria self-shading. Enabling…

This research project aims to investigate the effects of wearable exoskeletons on human thermophysiological response. Both a stationary and a walking condition will be tested to represent different activity levels. The primary objective is to gain a deeper understanding of the heat and mass transfer mechanisms of exoskeletons to help in the design and development…

The study aims to characterize alkali-activated mine tailing blend properties such as reactivity, flowability, and compressive strength for potential grout applications. The obtained mine-tailing waste is found to be rich in silicates, which can be stabilized using alkali-activation technology. The pool of samples utilizing sodium hydroxide solution and sodium silicate as additives was narrowed down…

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) from head impact is a critical global public health issue affecting soldiers and contact sports athletes. Recent studies suggest that cavitation can indicate TBI. This research investigates cavitation nucleation and bubble dynamics in agarose soft-gels with concentrations of 0.3%, 0.75%, and 1.1%, which simulates brain tissue. Diametric data collected through image…

Current trends in solar energy technology have developed “low-cost solar-cells” that exhibit high levels of efficiency, enough so to surpass popular silicon solar cells. This technology is called perovskite, made up of Methylammonium Lead Iodide perovskite, or MAPbI3. Due to the nature of this rapidly developing technology, there is not much knowledge about the mechanical…

Endothelial inflammation is a critical factor in the development of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Therapies that target endothelial inflammation represent a promising strategy for treating CVD. Our lab has established a monocyte-mimicking nanoparticle (MoNP) capable of actively targeting endothelial cells (ECs). To further improve the selective binding of MoNP to inflamed EC while avoiding healthy cells,…

This research proposes a comprehensive framework for multiperiod transmission expansion planning that considers load growth. The framework integrates both technical and economic aspects of the transmission system and employs optimization techniques to identify the most cost-effective expansion plan. The effectiveness of the proposed framework is tested through different systems. The framework can help transmission planners…

Perovskite is the new and upcoming material in the solar energy field. However, improvements in stability are necessary to create a marketable product. The perovskite ink has been modified to accommodate the viscosity requirements for blade-coating applications, but the resulting effects of the additives on material stress are not yet known. This research project focuses…

Engineering bacteria provides a sustainable route for the production of succinate, an important platform chemical. The E. coli strain KJ122 can produce up to 80 g/L succinate, but is potentially limited by the kinetics of the key enzyme, Pck, which carboxylates phosphoenolpyruvate using CO2 as a substrate. This project is exploring different strategies for linking…

Project aims to develop a state-of-the-art TCR-epitope binding affinity prediction model for out-of-sample epitopes. The plan is to fine-tune a pre-trained amino-acid embedding model to predict the similarity between two TCRs, which can indicate their likelihood to bind to the same epitope, using L1 and MSE loss. To generate the training set, TCR-epitope pairs will…

The research focuses on studying the effect of startling acoustic stimuli (SAS) on latency and accuracy of performing everyday tasks such as drinking water from a cup and feeding with a spoon. These are complex functional tasks requiring multi-joint coordination. The aim of this study is to translate the results to clinical trials to eventually…

This research aims to investigate the potential of hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) for converting disposable face masks into fuel precursors. Face masks have been identified as a major environmental threat due to the lack of biodegradability and increased use due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These masks have created an environmental problem with solid waste along with…

The binding of T cell receptor (TCR) and epitope plays an important role in the immune system. Machine learning models have been developed to predict the binding affinity of TCR-epitope pairs. One of the existing models using the Transformer architecture has shown a great capability for this task. However, the position information of TCRs and…

Ankle stability is essential for human locomotion, and ankle sprains are prevalent musculoskeletal injuries. This research will use a robotic platform to apply position perturbation to the ankle and measure corresponding ankle torque using force plates. The ankle stiffness will be modeled using the non-parametric system identification method, and the ankle angle will be measured…

Core loss characteristics in magnetic materials play a critical role in the design of power electronic converters. Manufacturer-provided data on core loss characteristics is often collected over a limited operating range and unspecified core shape. Having the ability to directly test magnetic materials is extremely beneficial to the power electronics designer in producing high-performance power…

Accumulation of plastic waste in oceans and landfills increasingly threatens marine, animal, and human life due to fragmentation into microplastics. It is estimated that 359 million tons of plastic is produced annually, half of which accrues in landfills. A substantial portion of this plastic is polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Plasmid constructs have been developed for the…

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with the risk of developing the disease doubling every five years after the age of 65 and 10.7% of individuals of this age having the disease. AD begins long before the appearance of classical symptoms like memory loss in a stage known as “preclinical AD”; however, no…

Atherosclerosis is the leading cause of cardiovascular diseases. Despite advances in medical imaging, detecting atherosclerotic lesions at early stages remains a major challenge. This FURI project aims to characterize and optimize a novel lesion-targeted contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of atherosclerotic plaques recently developed in Assistant Professor Kuei-Chun Wang’s lab. The research will…

The research conducted aims at understanding the effects of the solid, gas, and oil yields from HTL reactors, specifically that of compost. By adding controlled amounts of compost, microplastic in the form of PET, and a pesticide with the main active ingredient being silicon dioxide, the yields can vary drastically. Understanding the effects of pesticides on microplastics…

Despite the focus on diversity, women and minority faculty are still underrepresented in engineering. The research team aims to research one strategy that marginalized engineering faculty may have used to shield themselves from discrimination and examine its opportunity cost. Statistical discrimination means a decision-maker uses observable characteristics to infer gender or race/ethnicity for proxy discrimination….

This project investigates the role of context-dependent scenarios in shaping emergent communication among agents that learn to interact without any pre-established linguistic system. A novel method to model context-dependent scenarios using multi-agent reinforcement learning is proposed, and the influence of various factors on the emergence of compositional, coherent, and adaptive communication is examined. The implications…

Chronic ankle instability (CAI) is caused by the failure to get into treatment and rehabilitation after suffering an acute ankle sprain which is the most common injury of the ankle joint. Typical clinical assessment on ankle sprain is done under unloaded conditions although ankle sprain occurs during active or passive weight loading. Modeling bilateral ankle…

Previous studies have shown that various pathogens and small organisms have a resonant frequency where they absorb more power than at other frequencies. This project seeks to develop tools to determine the effectiveness of using these resonant frequencies to identify specific freshwater organisms. This approach is reminiscent of the identification of specific molecules by the…

Recent research has shown the potential benefits of incorporating graphene into metal wires for high-power transmission applications. Graphene improves the current-carrying capacity of metal conductors and resistance to high thermal loads. In this project, the researcher compared the mechanical properties of standard annealed copper wires to graphene-coated copper wires through tensile testing. Strain data was…

Hyperbolic metamaterials offer an exciting platform to create physical phenomena not possible in nature, such as high-spatial-frequency and super-resolution. The current development of hyperbolic metamaterials relies majorly on the nanofabrication of metal/dielectric multilayers or nanowires arrays, whose performance is largely limited by the size of the fabricated period. Here a novel hyperbolic metamaterial at the…

The implementation of neural network models in hardware has been widely researched in the field of neuromorphic computing. Drifting away from the Von Neumann architecture, neuromorphic hardware allows for higher computational efficiency and performance. In this project, an investigation of neuromorphic devices that integrate the functionality of two devices by stacks of layers of 2D…

This study quantifies Escherichia coli in water sources in a managed aquifer recharge site and characterizes E. coli movement through clay loam. E. coli is a fecal indicator bacteria found in wastewater. Some strains pose a risk of gastrointestinal illness. The site of focus is the Riparian Preserve in Gilbert, Arizona. E. coli transport from a pond at the site to groundwater is…

Prior researchers have studied the material properties of varying test specimens using atomic force microscopy. The research literature on these trials has not taken into account the effect of surface roughness on measured values. When the probe tip is in contact with a rough surface the force of the probe tip is split into normal…

Studying plasma formation allows us to advance knowledge that is essential for the development of pulsed plasma thruster (PPT) technology. This electric propulsion technology can be integrated into CubeSats, providing a cost-effective, self-sufficient, low-power, sustainable long-term solution for deep space exploration missions. PPTs allow CubeSats to have propulsion and multi-axis maneuvering abilities, helping them perform…

Coupling reductive dehalogenation with microbial chain elongation (MCE) has the potential to drive in-situ bioremediation of chlorinated ethene contamination. MCE substrates, namely ethanol and acetate, can promote complete dehalogenation in soil and groundwater. However, the microbiomes involved in this coupled process are less understood. In this study, microbial community analysis was conducted on groundwater microcosms…

This experiment seeks to answer the question: Can the environmental contaminants N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N’-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (6PPD) and 6PPD-quinone (6PPDQ) be microbially degraded under various environmental conditions? To verify if microbes can utilize the contaminants as a sole carbon source, 6PPD and 6PPDQ were incubated under aerobic conditions with a microbial inoculum derived from wastewater-activated sludge. After verifying microbial…

With engineering being one of the most difficult and stressful majors, professors need new techniques to keep students motivated, successful, and mentally well. One method that may be useful in teaching is the use of persuasion techniques. There are six persuasion techniques included in the study: reciprocity, coercive authority, expert authority, commitment, liking, and social…

In order to draw upon Geobacter’s potential to produce energy and remediate wastewater, a better understanding of the pH limitations, if any, will be assessed. This will be researched by performing cyclic voltammetry at various buffer concentrations.  These pH limitations could result when Geobacter sulfurreducens oxidizes acetate, producing electrons, which could be harvested for electricity,…

The two-dimensional (2D) hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) memristor is known to “switch” between high to low resistive states through the formation and erasure of conductive filaments between electrodes. Mechanisms behind this filament formation include both metallic diffusion (primarily acting in Ti/h-BN/Au memristors), as well as the forming of boron vacancies (primarily in Au/h-BN/Au memristors) in…

Rotary drums are used in industries such as cement, pharmaceuticals, and other particulate sectors; thus, research on various parameters will increase operating efficiency and lead to enormous energy savings around the world. The current study focused on the effect of rotation rate on radiation heat transfer inside a rotary drum. The rotation rate was varied…

The main objective of this research is to take the lizard-inspired pipe inspection robot from the laboratory to the actual field and ensure that it can be operated with minimal to no issues. The areas of improvement in the robot’s design were weight, size, travel speed, and improving the performance of each joint, as well…

Data centers are becoming a critical electronic load as our online presence continues to grow. The power supplies used to enable these data centers take up valuable space inside the server racks that comprise them and also burn electrical energy, and this is counter to the objective of maximizing the storage and processing capability of…

People use music every day to alter their mood or energy level. The objective of this project is to harness the power of music to intentionally and precisely affect these feelings. This is done by analyzing metrics collected through a person’s phone or smartwatch like heart rate and then selecting the music that best encourages…

A possible solution to remove high concentrations of nitrate from water is the nitrate reduction reaction (NO3RR), where nitrate is reduced to either nitrogen or ammonia on an electrode surface. Using a copper electrode with a single-atom catalyst (SAC) can increase the activity and selectivity of the NO3RR. This study explores different combinations of the…

Kirigami is utilized in the manufacturing industry to improve durability, versatility, and elongation. These kirigami structures are 3D printed with an Ender Pro printer and a conductive filament. The Japanese art form kirigami means “cut” and “paper”, which in this application turns two-dimensional into three-dimensional deformation. The objective of this research is to study the…

Increasing reliance on wireless networks demands a system design that is robust and efficient while minimizing interference between competing transmitters. In this research, we assume multiple transmitters each trying to send a signal to its intended receiver. Optimal power allocation using formulas derived from Information Theory is known to be an NP-hard problem. This work…

This project was designed to explore the performance of anti-perovskite films as solid-state electrolytes for use in battery cells using a new chemistry. Thin films of this material were created by dissolving low-cost powder precursors and spin-coating the solution onto silicon substrates. The films were analyzed using optical and electron microscopy, fracture testing, profilometry, X-ray…

While silicon modules have become the industry standard for solar energy, perovskite materials hold the potential for making high-efficiency, low-cost solar cells through solution processing of Earth-abundant materials. Interestingly, unmodified perovskite inks suitable for small-scale laboratory production yield poor results when processed with scalable methods like blade coating. This research aims to study the effects…

With recent developments in the domains of machine learning and neural-signal decoding, this project seeks to explore the possibility of speech identification/recognition through the analysis of neural signals from the speech centers of the human brain. Using a relevant dataset, this project aims at testing the reliability around harboring onto machine-learning-based algorithms for the detection…

Technology can improve students’ lives when they first enter college, so the goal of this research is to determine what students in the Employment Assistance and Social Engagement (EASE) program at ASU would find beneficial in an application. To do this, the researcher gave a survey to both peer mentees and peer mentors in the…

Noninvasive therapeutic techniques have been desirable in the biomedical community due to their ability to treat diseases or abnormalities in various body systems without causing excessive damage to patients. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a form of noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS), works by manipulating the neuronal membrane threshold, which has been shown to have positive…

Obtaining quick and accurate structural and mass property estimates in the early stages of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) design is often challenging due to a limited number of tools for projects of this scale. Research was conducted on the feasibility and set-up of parametric models capable of iterating through and analyzing a wide range of…

The ANDI thermal manikin is an advanced thermal instrument equipped with an internal cooling system and shell-integrated Dynamic Heat Flux Sensors used to analyze the human body’s thermal exposure responses under varying environmental conditions. This research initiative focuses on developing a convection-based calibration procedure for ANDI’s Dynamic Heat Flux Sensors which currently has not been…

Polyurethane polymers are synthetic plastics that are slowly increasing their applications in biological systems such as drug delivery. When polyethylene glycol (PEG) and polypropylene glycol (PPG) are combined, the resulting PEG-PPG polyurethane has shown swelling transitions in response to varying external temperatures. This research focuses on identifying the temperature, known as the lower critical solution…

Thermochemical CO­­2 splitting is a process that can utilize the formation of oxygen vacancies in CeO2 (ceria) at high temperatures (~1,500 ⁰C) to produce CO­. To reduce the operating temperature range, an electronic double layer is used and requires an ionic medium (molten salts) to amplify a low voltage. The ceria in this experiment are…

The study aims to optimize and improve the durability of alkali-activated concrete made from waste materials, including blast furnace slag, mine tailings, and carpet fibers. The study explores the use of alkali-activated binders with low CO2 emissions and the addition of different waste materials to improve the properties of concrete. The study identified that PCC fibers can…

The goal is to develop a remote RF power monitoring system that measures the power directly from the MRI RF coil using an Android application-based wireless module for the safety of patients, personnel, and equipment. This system will provide accurate and real-time measurement of the forward and reflected RF power of an RF coil with…

This research proposes a methodology to apply volumetric capture technology for bringing authentic human performances into virtual worlds. The study builds on the advantages of existing models, SIMPLify and VIBE, and aims to simplify and optimize them using model pruning techniques. The output models will contain texture and can be opened in game engines. The…

This project aims to predict the public’s opinion on any given pop music using a machine learning model and the music’s audio features. While other studies have been shown to predict public ratings of pop music, those studies only used the metadata, such as the music’s artist and album. By using audio features instead of…

Micro Continuous Liquid Interface Production is a type of 3D printing in which photo-polymerization is used for fusion, which solidifies the resin, resulting in strong objects with a smooth surface finish. By the addition of lead zirconate titanate to functionalize the piezoelectric materials, higher piezoelectric charge constant can be achieved, without harming the mechanical flexibility…

This research aims at conducting a comprehensive data analysis to extract all the useful information for building a practical model and to excavate the relationship of additive manufacturing with powder. With this model, users can input their manufacturing setting to output the estimated probability of satisfying the criteria so as to improve additive manufacturing. For…

Wastewater-Based Epidemiology (WBE) is a developing field that allows scientists to collect and monitor data about waste from a wide range of sources: ranging from household wastewater to collecting community waste from a local wastewater treatment facility. This data provides important predictions and accurate information in determining concentrations of polioviruses, pathogens, bacteria, and other pathogens…

Engineering bacteria provides a sustainable route for the production of succinate, an important platform chemical. The E. coli strain KJ122 can produce up to 80 g/L succinate, but is potentially limited by a lack of native transporters for the active uptake of inorganic carbon, necessary precursors for succinate production. This project explores the use of…

With the increasing availability of prefabricated composite spars, there is an opportunity to integrate these products into the structure of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In using these composite spars, engineers must consider how to best create the complicated geometries that are employed in a small UAV’s vehicle design, necessitating the use of composite jointing…

This project seeks to determine the most optimal design for growing penicillin through solid-state fermentation (SSF) bioreactors. SSF is a promising method used to grow fungi, which can produce antibiotics like penicillin. Compared to other methods, SSF results in higher yields of penicillin in less time and requires fewer resources — which is ideal in…

The objective of this research is to create a system of four bar linkages to produce a passive robotic balancing mechanism. This system can be used to help educate primary school students in basic robotics mechanisms.

Composites are known for their outstanding wear resistance, excellent mechanical performance-to-weight ratio, and high thermal resistance. However, the performance of a composite depends on several factors including loading stress, fiber orientation, etc. In this project, the effects of accelerated aging conditions, mimicking 60 years of use, on carbon fiber’s durability and delamination is studied through…

Soft robotics has seen many exciting applications in human-robot interaction, search and rescue, and even space exploration. Increasing efforts are being made to predict and simulate the behavior of soft pneumatic actuators (SPA), which present a promising solution to drive soft robots. The primary use of a soft bending pneumatic actuator can be observed in…

Human-robot collaborations are ubiquitous ranging from assembly lines, autonomous vehicles, medical procedures, etc. In such systems, humans and robots work in shared spaces to accomplish a joint task. Successful implementation of such systems depends on each teammate’s ability to predict the actions of other collaborators. Robot intent signaling in the human-robot collaboration environment would enable…

With limitations of the pneumatic bending actuator on slow activation time and limited rigidity for housing motors, we proposed a design modification on the drone arms to include bistable materials along with the fabric-based actuators from our previous design. The bistable material was assembled with the fabric-based actuators using additive manufacturing methods, which also helps…

Through genetic engineering, scientists can manipulate microbial metabolism to maximize the production of a certain chemical. Cyanobacteria have previously been engineered to produce a wide variety of chemicals. That said, current efforts to increase titers in cyanobacteria have not been optimal for industrial use. Slow growth rate and low titers hinder economic feasibility. If one…

The purpose of this research is to understand the macroscale fracture toughness of carbon nanotube network interphase in DRY Buckypaper membrane at the nanoscale level using atomic force microscopy. Obtaining quantitative data on the interphase properties at the nanoscale level and analyzing the effects of the interphase on fracture assists in the development of a…

This research considers the problem of active covering with the goal of the learner sequentially querying a dataset so that all positive examples have been labeled. The classification of data is an important problem that can be used in many models as predictors, for example, the stock market, health and fitness data, customers’ habits, etc….

On-site electrochlorination is a promising solution for decentralized water treatment since it is easy to operate and sustains long-term disinfection. This work investigated the impact of electrocatalyst selection on active chlorine generation including Ti/RuO2, Ti/IrO2, and BDD. Operating parameters like current density, chloride concentration and cross velocity were evaluated using an engineered plug-flow electrochemical cell…

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a form of non-invasive brain stimulation thought to initiate cortical excitability. While tDCS has been shown to alter motor learning, the extent to which placebo effects, not tDCS treatment effects, are responsible for these benefits is unknown. This study compares how much a motor skill improves with practice during…

The research is focused around using and modifying previously existing algorithms to allow for the ability to equip a formula electric vehicle with self-driving capabilities. The approach that will be taken is referred to as simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM). In summary, this approach is aimed at building a map of an unknown environment while…

The project, a continuation from Spring 2022, seeks to answer the research question: Is hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), a layered two-dimensional (2D) material, a promising candidate to implement brain-inspired (neuromorphic) computing devices and circuits? Research this semester will extend beyond testing the standalone behavior of individual memristor devices to investigating their collective ability to implement…

In this study, we utilize a shoulder exoskeleton robot, which makes use of a 4-bar spherical parallel manipulator (4B-SPM) that has inherently low inertia and as a result can provide fast perturbations. By employing a parallel architecture, the 4B-SPM exoskeleton has the advantage of high acceleration, fast enough to satisfy the speed requirement for the…

Polyethylene binders and folders have a living hinge built into them which can be applied to developing foldable robots. By exploiting this knowledge, the cost of materials and the complexity of manufacturing should go down thereby reducing the barrier of entry into the field of foldable robotics, ideally without compromising the operability and robustness. The…

This project seeks to address the question: What is the effect of expressing a malonate pathway in C. glutamicum strains on naringenin output? Findings suggest the optimal MatC induction with MatB is between 100 µM to 1 mM, and ideal MatC induction with aTc is between 10–50 ng/mL. Furthermore, low product titer and yield suggested…

The purpose of this research project is to build a data pipeline to process the high-resolution images produced by various cameras (Mastcam-Z, Navcam, Hazcam, etc.) on the Perseverance rover. The format of the image data provided by NASA’s Planetary Data System is not directly usable and is therefore processed in order to be functional and…

Aging-related diseases are primarily metabolic, leading to long-term inflammation, but in drug discovery, immunometabolism remains difficult to assess and often relies on expensive and low throughput methods like mass spectroscopy or transcriptomics. This project will establish real-time fluorescence assays that model and measure neuroinflammatory response to stimuli in human microglial cells. Fluorescence will be induced…

Understanding of the CNT network interphase will help in facilitating the manufacturing of stronger and tougher composites that are employed in aerospace, space, and defense sectors. Finite Element simulations are used to characterize the nanoscale effect of depth of large-sized CNT network and interphase on contact response in AFM to develop a multiscale understanding of…

Pneumonia remains one of the leading causes of global mortality affecting 2.49 million people annually due to poor diagnostic measures. One of the bacterial strains contributing to this mortality rate is Streptococcus pneumoniae. To diagnose pneumonia, clinicians are required to culture sputum for weeks limiting the efficacy of antibiotic treatment. In recent years, volatile organic…

Accumulation of plastic waste in oceans and landfills increasingly threatens life due to fragmentation into microplastics. Annually, it is estimated 359 million tons of plastic are produced, 150-200 million tons of which accrues in landfills and contain a substantial portion of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Plasmid constructs have been developed for the expression of PET-hydrolyzing enzymes….

For this project, the goal is to understand the constraints of deploying a neural network model onto an embedded system. The idea is to train a model and deploy it to an embedded device in order to see how memory is allocated and how much information can be stored. Currently, the team has created a…

One of the biggest questions facing the safe deployment and commercialization of automated driving system (ADS)-equipped vehicles (AVs) today is, “What level of operational safety performance is required compared to that of a human-driven vehicle (HDV)?” To answer this question, a methodology to quantitatively measure and contrast the operational safety performance of AVs and HDVs…

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally, claiming 1.59 million lives annually. Numerous efforts have been made to reduce mortality, however, 33% of small cell lung cancer patients still experience a relapse within the first two years. This challenge is driven by limitations in diagnostics, which are unable to accurately evaluate the…

The researcher will manufacture a carbon nanotube (CNT) network in a 2D buckypaper membrane. The researcher will use Peak Force Quantitative Nanomechanical Mapping (PFQNM) to measure the interphase thickness between the CNT network and the epoxy resin. Weibull model will be used for a statistical analysis of the interphase thickness.

Polymer matrix composite performance weaknesses are largely caused by delamination, which is a mode failure originating from a combination of normal and shear stresses, or Mode I and Mode II, respectively. In the past, researchers introduced a mixed-mode bending (MMB) fixture to identify combined Mode I and Mode II fractures. Recently, Arizona State University researchers…

In the past few decades, a new kind of structure made out of certain patterns was discovered that was porous and presented a negative Poisson’s ratio. Because of this unique property, these Auxetic patterns have the potential to be stronger than their patternless counterparts while using less material, an important aspect in aerospace applications. During…

This FURI semester, this project focuses on experimenting with the concatenation of pre-trained encoder and decoder checkpoints to quickly perform task-specific tasks. Our research has uncovered possible ways that can translate text into poems. This research provides an entryway into further research that can solve task-specific problems that involve mapping data from one type to…

Kirigami is utilized in the manufacturing industry to improve durability, versatility, and elongation. These kirigami structures are 3D printed with an Ender Pro printer and a conductive filament. The Japanese art form “kirigami” means “cut” and “paper,” which in this application turns two dimensions into three-dimensional deformation. The objective of this research is to study…

Imagine the possibility of a cure for one of the most prevalent problems associated with aging. Numerous individuals experience difficulty getting out of bed, sitting, or performing normal tasks due to weak knees. This issue also affects manual laborers who may be compelled to change careers or retire as a result of the strenuous repetitive…

One of the key components of an intelligent transportation system is the ability to detect and track vehicles from traffic surveillance cameras. This research project showcases a monocular 3D object detection system that is trained on a custom dataset, KITTI-Carla, which comprises synthetic 3D data collected from the view of a traffic camera from the…

Research suggests that harnessing the wisdom of crowds is a valuable endeavor to reach a more comprehensive understanding of situations and improve decision-making. That is, intelligently aggregating the estimations or predictions of multiple individuals, the collective value can be more accurate than the information provided by any single individual. However, the cost of acquiring the…

An effective method to guarantee vehicle safety is to design a vehicle driving safety algorithm that limits its states within a predefined stability region without passing the boundaries. A non-overshooting model of predictive control is implemented to achieve that. The stability and feasibility are further ensured by the addition of terminal cost and terminal constraints….

This study quantifies Escherichia coli (E. coli) in water sources in a managed aquifer recharge site and characterizes its movement through clay loam. E. coli is a typical fecal indicator bacteria in wastewater, and certain strains pose a risk of gastrointestinal illness. This study was conducted at Riparian Preserve in Gilbert, Arizona, where there is a risk of groundwater…

A limitation in the aerospace industry is the lack of lightweight materials that can withstand high temperatures without losing their mechanical robustness for applications in supersonic/hypersonic flights. The current generation of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic and titanium alloys fail to sustain their properties at elevated temperatures. Carbon-carbon (C-C) composites have been studied for nearly four decades,…

The basis of this project is a reprocessable photopolymer made up of a UV-induced thiol-ene network. The introduction of a tetra functional thiol into the structure, pentaerythritol tetrakis (PETMP), improves the mechanical and thermal properties of this network while also maintaining the disulfide backbone, which allows for reprocessing. These properties are evaluated using tensile testing,…

Traditional hydrocarbon-based plastics are unable to be chemically recycled. The purpose of this research is to develop similar materials that do not pose the same environmental hazard as conventional plastics. Photo-induced crosslinked materials may be produced via the reaction of multifunctional enes with thiol-terminal oligomers containing a dynamic disulfide backbone (thioplast). These networks may then…

This research intends to develop a novel navigation algorithm for Collision-Resilient Quadcopters (CRQ), which are quadcopters that can take collisions and still maintain stable flight. This algorithm will enable the quadcopter to navigate when there is zero knowledge of the environment. It is almost the equivalent of a person who is blind navigating through a…

This project aims to develop a user-friendly, open-source, web-based visualization and exploration interface in WebGL to map and analyze urban climate data. The tool will allow users to freely explore datasets relevant to cities’ urban form and function at fine spatial scales and combine (or join and mask) ancillary datasets without downloading data or installing…

Vat photopolymerization technology can print three-dimensional objects with high precision and fast speed. For interlocked structures, a significant amount of additional support is required in order to ensure the overhanging and free-hanging features can be fabricated. However, internal supports cannot be directly removed, and it is time-consuming to manually remove supports. In addition, unexpected damage…

A personal indirect calorimeter allows everyone to assess energy expenditure (metabolic rate or metabolism (kcal/day)) through breath analysis, thus enabling accurate determination of a person’s total caloric intake needs for weight management and fitness. In addition, ketones are markers of fat oxidation, and can also be measured through breath. The aim of this project is…

Air-retaining is attracting increasing attention for various applications. Salvinia exhibit stable and long-term air retention because of the unique combination of smooth hydrophilic patches on elastic eggbeater structures decorated with nanoscopic wax crystals. However, reproducing such hierarchical structures with controllable surface roughness is challenging for current fabrication approaches, which hinders the applications of such air-retaining…

Throughout this independent and thesis-based research, the ramifications of software attacks on electronic hardware in an electric vehicle (EV) are thoroughly investigated in an effort to present the appropriate guidance for defending against cyberattacks. The research team analyzes a miniature model of an EV and analyzes its software to help better understand the dynamics of…

The melt crystallization of semicrystalline thermoplastics is a physical process that dictates the key characteristics of the resulting materials. In this study, a fluorescence technique was developed to monitor the melt crystallization of the thermoplastic, poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA). PLLA was fluorescently labeled with a fluorophore, CN4OH, which is sensitive to the degree of crystallinity…

As the population increases, there will inevitably be a greater generation of waste, which necessitates the long-term need for waste treatment. A consequence of waste treatment facilities is the production of highly toxic gases. The purpose of this research is to develop a dual-component structure that will decompose select pollutants into value-added products while minimizing…

People are exposed to a variety of thermal environments every day. Understanding and predicting an individual’s heat stress and strain potential in various thermal environments is crucial. Previous human thermal exposure studies have accounted only for average caucasian humans. However, the fact that every human has a unique body shape leaves behind a limited understanding…

This project seeks to address the question: What is the effect of expressing a malonate pathway in C. glutamicum strains on naringenin output? It is hypothesized that overexpressing the MatB synthase and MatC protein transporter will cause an increase in malonyl-coA pools (a precursor for naringenin synthesis), ultimately increasing the naringenin output. Naringenin can be…

With the increase in world population, waterborne diseases are also increasing. Drinking water distribution systems (DWDS) biofilms can harbor pathogens, and opportunistic pathogens such as Legionella spp. and E. coli potentially release them back into the water, resulting in human exposure. In addition, water quality conditions can affect water pipes and water mains due to…

Active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are exposed to the environment during their use, manufacturing, and disposal. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), APIs have proven to be detrimental to human health. Thus, API degradation is required to warrant water quality. In-situ chemical oxidation technology has been presented as an alternative for API treatment, these technologies…

The purpose of the octopus project research at the BIRTH Lab is to determine the functionality of each muscle layer in an octopus. Electromyography (EMG) signals are quantitatively analyzed for complex motions of the electrically stimulated arm. This opens possibilities for engineering a bio-inspired soft robotic arm. The research team is currently running experiments in which…

One of the biggest questions facing the safe deployment and commercialization of automated driving systems (ADS)-equipped vehicles ​(AVs) today is “What level of driving safety performance is required compared to that of a human-driven vehicle?” A methodology to systematically compare and evaluate the driving safety performance of AVs and human-driven vehicles is needed to provide…

Current vat photopolymerization (VPP) technology can print three-dimensional (3D) objects with high precision and fast speed. For complex computer-aided design (CAD) mega-structures, a significant amount of additional support structures are required in order to ensure the overhanging and free-hanging features can be fabricated. However, internal support structures cannot be directly removed, and it is time-consuming…

Polymer matrix composite performance weaknesses are largely caused by delamination, which is a mode failure originating from a combination of normal and shear stresses, or Mode I and Mode II, respectively. In the past, researchers introduced a mixed-mode bending (MMB) fixture to identify combined Mode I and Mode II fractures. Recently, Arizona State University researchers…

3D printing is an advanced manufacturing strategy for nanocomposite manufacturing due to rapid prototyping, limited material wastage, high processing speed, and customization. This study demonstrated the design and development of a new additive manufacturing mechanism, Multiphase Direct Ink Writing (MDIW). By matching the viscosity between polymer solutions/nanoparticle suspensions (Boron nitride Epoxy and Polyethylenimine PEI), an…

Through this study, a novel in-line inspection robot for the detection of defects in gas pipelines is proposed, which would help in automating the structural health monitoring process. With the help of sensor fusion techniques, it is expected that the uncertainty in the pose estimate of the robot reduces, which would facilitate 3D reconstruction of…

Core loss characteristics in magnetic materials play a critical role in the design of power electronic converters. Manufacturer-provided data on core loss characteristics are often collected over a limited operating range and for an unspecified core shape. Having the ability to directly test magnetic materials is extremely beneficial to the power electronics designer in producing…

On-site electrochlorination appears as a promising solution since it produces long-lasting disinfecting species and does not require complex operation. This work investigates the impact of electrocatalyst selection on chlorine electrogeneration. Engineering figures of merit based on electrical energy requirement and productivity have been used to assess the most competitive electrode material among Ti/RuO2, Ti/IrO2, and…

Composites are known for their outstanding wear resistance, excellent mechanical performance-to-weight ratio, and high thermal resistance. However, the performance of a composite depends on several factors including loading stress and temperature. In this project, the effects of accelerated aging conditions mimicking 60 years of use on carbon fiber’s durability and delamination are studied through reading…

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a method of neuromodulation in which implanted electrodes produce electrical impulses for the treatment of neurological disorders like Parkinson’s disease (PD), epilepsy, and dystonia. DBS of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is the method of interest for this research due to its success in human subjects. Although the efficacy of DBS…

Due to the growing concerns of petroleum and its negative effects, alternative solvents like ethyl lactate are sought out to replace common petroleum-based solvents. Ethyl lactate, a naturally biodegradable ethyl ester of lactic acid, is a common solvent used in pharmaceutical manufacturing and food production. To provide a sustainable method of production of ethyl lactate,…

Currently, many intrusion detection systems employ infrared detection as a means of detecting intrusive behaviors in a certain area. While effective in a controlled environment, the main flaws of these systems come from being easily triggerable due to changes in light as well as consuming high amounts of power in order to operate. This project…

Research in this study investigates whether the structural motif Degradation Tuning Ribonucleic Acid (dt-RNA) enhances the function of aptamers for COVID-19 testing kits and increases the stability of mi-RNA. This research shows that aptamers attached to dt-RNA retain function, and mi-RNAs that are connected show an increase in stability. This makes dt-RNA an attractive motif…

A causal approach to machine learning is currently being investigated to better explain, understand, and apply machine learning models. The focus of this study is to use this causal approach to introspect on machine learning performance in the medical domain so that we can better understand the conditions under which medical machine learning models will…

Oriented-fiber reinforced composites had played a major role in the application of high-performance materials and the demand for them is growing. But there are still challenges in designing a method for uniform short, oriented fiber reinforcement in composites. This research will focus on leveraging additive manufacturing potential in terms of speed and precision to produce…

Poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG)-Polyurethane polymers are currently being used in tissue regeneration scaffolds, heart valves, and wound healing applications. Targeting specific PEG-Polyurethane properties can address the clinical needs mentioned above. The focus of this research is to analyze the molecular structure, the molecular weight (MW), and the accelerated swelling and degradation of the polymer to…

The aim of this research is to analyze the data from electrical tests performed on the components of transistors at the Flexible Electronics and Display Center of ASU. The purpose of the analysis is to discover the patterns of variability from the data, associate them with the assorted quality issues and measurement errors, and propose…

An anthropomorphic neuroprosthetics arm is a bionic arm that will help people replicate much of the function of a native human arm. Artificial limbs are essential to improve the quality of life of people living without limbs. Bionic limbs such as bone-anchored prostheses use implants directly inserted into the living bone for more stability. Limb…

Generative adversarial networks are used to create visuals from textual inputs, allowing a user to create artwork with only a keyboard. GANs can be extended by recycling the output image as a seed for another generation, allowing the creation of dynamic videos. Using this technology, individuals can create a video by simply entering a list…

Nanocomposite polymers are a class of materials known for their customizability and vast applicability in the additive manufacturing industry. Shape Memory Actuators (SMAs) are a nanocomposite subset that has become a prime research interest in industrial, automotive, aerospace, and biomedical applications. This is because SMAs have a much greater propensity to return to their original…

Auditory analysis based on musical information and text lyrics, and flexible light controls through mediums such as keyboard input or motion capture can be used as input to an end-to-end program that generates light shows and visuals, enabling creative expression. Researchers have developed programs that pull information from songs and record user input to automatically…

The biggest challenge in computer-aided diagnosis remains the slow nature of the data annotation process. No large-scale evaluation has performed a comparison on the many pre-trained models in existence. In this project, selected pre-trained models are benchmarked to compare, evaluate and determine their superiority in medical image disease detection. The potential of this research project…

Dendrites are fascinating branching structures that exhibit randomness, yet they are unique, non-repeatable, and identifiable with the right algorithmic innovations. The question this research aims to answer is how can machine learning and these naturally random structures be brought together to create a highly accurate, secure, and specific identifier? In order to create a model…

This project seeks to synthesize mesoporous silica by using the abundant mineral forsterite as a silica source. It was found that mesoporous silica can be synthesized from forsterite, with the optimal conditions being 70 °C and -0.2 pH for 24 hours, which yielded a specific surface area of 735 m2/g and a total pore volume…

This study quantifies Escherichia coli in water sources in a managed aquifer recharge site and characterizes E. coli movement through clay loam. E. coli is a fecal indicator bacteria found in wastewater. Some strains pose a risk of gastrointestinal illness. The site of focus is the Riparian Preserve in Gilbert, Arizona. E. coli transport from…

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare but aggressive cancer that resides in the pleural space surrounding the lungs. The median survival rate for MPM remains poor even with existing treatment procedures. Ubiquitination is one biological process known to influence protein and cell function. This research project examines cell proliferation and cell apoptosis in MPM…

In a previous study, it was discovered that aminoglycoside-derived cationic polymer microbeads (also called Amikabeads) have significant binding affinity toward negatively charged plasmid DNA due to coulombic interactions. The purpose of this study is to develop a small library of modified Amikabeads with a variety of DNA-intercalating chemotherapeutic drug molecules to modulate the ability of…

Existing analyte measurement techniques are error-prone, time-consuming, and expensive. Hence, a handheld medical device capable of accurately measuring the amount of analyte (as low as 10 micromolar) in the blood is a long-desired requirement of doctors. Determining optimum parameters to get high sensitivity in sensors is required. This project is aimed at analyzing the effect…

When released into the environment, plastics undergo mechanical abrasion and ultraviolet (UV) exposure that leads to the formation of microplastics. These microplastics, when present as a mixture with other contaminants, may interact with each other, thus, exhibiting high toxicity. Such interactions may be altered due to UV aging and biological surface weathering of these microplastics,…

The environment today is facing concerns about the over-accumulation of plastics in landfills as well as excessive CO2 emissions. Containers and packaging take up approximately 15 million tons each year, and accumulations such as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch are entering the oceans. Work has been done to alter and treat polyethylene plastic to be…

Improvement in the efficiency, accuracy, and timeliness of a functional motor task likely correlates to an improvement in related motions of daily life (Winstein and Stewart, 2006). The functional motor task performed in this study mimics the daily living activity of feeding oneself, such that in the task, participants scoop two beans from a “home”…

In our work, we tried to enable the reconstruction of high-resolution computed tomography (CT) images using implicit neural networks which usually require access to large amounts of graphics processing unit (GPU) memory. We propose a new ray-sampling technique that enables high-resolution reconstruction using INRs. Our approach uses a random batch of rays in each training…

During walking, the human ankle accommodates for surface irregularities during the stance phase by changing its mechanical impedance to a stiffness dominant joint. To prevent discomfort to an ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) device user, it is crucial for AFO controllers to closely follow foot trajectory while constantly changing stiffness properties. This study aims to compare the…

The development of additively manufactured sintered wicks and heat pipes will allow for the design and creation of integrated heat sinks and pipes in designs not possible through standard manufacturing processes currently relied upon. It is also possible to explore designs of more efficient thermal dissipation designs, such as those seen in nature. This work…

Counter-UAV systems are growing popular day by day. As the rise of drones has its benefits, but also raises the risks of potential threats when handled in unlawful activities or involved in causing harm to the citizens. Real-time, recurrent, regression-based tracking, a fast yet accurate network for generic object tracking, was developed for drones to…

The task of analyzing long-term wind speed trends across Arizona initially began with sorting data to show what the long-term wind speed trends across Arizona are. Through collection and analysis of the AZMET wind speed data, it was found that the wind speeds tended to decline with respect to time. Using daily wind speed data,…

This project aims to utilize magnets and a robot capable of great precision in order to determine new techniques that will improve the efficacy of minimally invasive surgeries. Through sensory detectors capable of gauging tension force and deviation angle, the research team is able to guide a needle throughout various tissues and pathways inside the…

This research investigates the utilization of neural summation resulting from multisensory integration during action inhibition. Combining the race model inequality, which implies neural summation from bimodal stimuli, with the stop signal (SS) tasks, which infers inhibition performance, allows an investigation of psychophysics integrating to cognitive processes. At present, the experimental design is finalized and the…

The GCSP Clean Water Research Team seeks to find a sustainable solution to water accessibility for the homeless population of Phoenix while also preventing the spread of COVID-19. The portion of the project completed by this researcher was to use the engineering process to explore and find a cleaning process/mechanism that fits the necessary criteria…

The research project analyzed the financial viability of a proposed drinking water filling and bottle cleaning station. A mathematical model was developed to compare costs of the proposed solution under varying criteria to water bottle drives by organizations like Valley of the Sun United Way. The model also compared Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions using EPA…

Nowadays, Autonomous Driving Systems (ADS) is a fast-growing field of research. High-fidelity simulation environments ease the assessment of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) in different safety-critical domains. However, the currently available simulation environments suffer from the lack of diverse simulation scenarios, in particular, map scenarios. To address this issue, the simulator map auto-generation method provides an extensive…

The goal of this project is to implement an efficient and accurate 3D semantic segmentation on Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) dental imaging for accurate lesion detection using a 3D U-Net method. Applying this technology in diagnostic medical imaging can lead to early detection of various types of lesions, which is vital for medical diagnosis. In…

Soldering tin-coated copper ribbons (300 µm round) on photovoltaic cells (~200 microns thick) requires precise control of temperature, soldering speed, and the applied force. Additionally, the tabbing needs to be soldered to a specific part of cell metallization. When done by hand, it can take up to 40 minutes and human error can lead to…

Cyanobacteria and its complex photosynthetic systems have been a prime target for synthetic biologists and their molecular engineering tools for the last couple of decades. However, characterizing meaningful CO2 removal performance has always been a struggle within the field. Measuring these changes in gas concentration within a dynamic system can be accomplished with a simple…

The project will be dealing with three different types of Graphene and its oxidized nanomaterials, namely Graphene (Gr), Graphene Oxide (GO) and reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO), under different loading conditions of the nutrients namely, Nitrogen (N), Potassium (K) and Phosphorus (P), sometimes referred as the “big 3” in the commercial nano fertilizers for their importance….

Recent advances in genome engineering, namely Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9 gene editing, have revolutionized biomedical research and hold promise for treating genetic disorders. However, inefficient delivery and potential off-target effects remain the major obstacles, limiting clinical applications of gene editing. The objective of this MORE project is to develop novel cell membrane-cloaked…

With the rise of big data, Distributed Computing methods have become the backbone of large systems. Contextualizing problems in a multiagent paradigm enables one to capitalize on the high scalability of such distributed methods. Currently, such multiagent problems are often solved (sub-)optimally using Multiagent Reinforcement Learning (MARL), which relies on a centralized server to perform…

Past studies have shown negative effects of smartphone usage on standing postural balance, but mostly focused on traditional tasks like calling or texting. As part of modern life, smartphones are now also utilized for taking selfie photos or posting statuses on social media. However, little is known about how this modern usage impacts balance. Moreover,…

One of the most promising technologies for creating power without emissions is Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) because it uses oxygen and hydrogen to create electricity with the only byproduct being water. To figure out the optimal design of the fuel cell, a literature review was conducted to determine the effects of adding both internal…

Memristors are newly utilized devices that hold variable resistances based on input voltages. This unique characteristic allows for a faster, more power-efficient implementation of the dot-product computation compared to traditional digital circuits. Placing these memristors in a crossbar array, dot-products of multiple vectors can be computed, creating an improved methodology for one of the most…

Placental trophoblasts support fetal growth and survival, but the behavior of these cells is challenging to study in vivo and in two-dimensional culture systems. In this project, we investigate the use of 3D printing to generate an on-a-chip platform to study trophoblast behavior. We evaluated the feasibility of printing the chips on glass slides and…

Future trends of climate change coupled with urban population growth indicate the need for reducing human exposure to extreme weather and heat. Extreme heat strains human health and people’s ability to work, travel, and enjoy time outdoors. This project develops a low-cost Internet of Things (IoT) device called MaRTiny that collects meteorological data and concurrently…

The hardware detects the movement of the user and utilizes a neural network to recognize correct movement patterns. Previous research used data imported from infrared scanners in order to build a model. This research project builds a model by tracking the movements of the participants using acceleration and gyroscope sensors. Using machine learning as an…

This project compared two optimization-based formulations for solving multi-robot task allocation problems with tether constraints. The first method used the common multiple traveling salesman formulation and implemented an algorithm over the formulation to filter out solutions that failed to satisfy the tether constraint, while a new formulation — the Timing Formulation — was designed to…

Solar adsorption refrigeration functions through alternating cycles of adsorption and desorption to achieve the cooling effect required. Unlike vapor-compression refrigerators which utilize electricity to function, this one primarily uses solar thermal energy. The system consists of a zeolite adsorbent and uses water as the refrigerant. These are contained within an evacuated glass tube. This project…

A promising treatment for Type 1 diabetes is encapsulation of pancreatic islet cells in hydrogels, which may prevent transplant issues, like immune rejection. These hydrogels can be modified to promote passive nutrient diffusion and prevent hypoxia via injection molding that produces geometries with reduced diameters. Polyethyleneglycol-maleimide (PEG-MAL) is a common macromer used to encapsulate islet…

Many activities of daily living like buttoning shirts or threading a needle require dexterous control of appropriate forces (or movement) of individual fingers. However, intending to move one finger is usually accompanied by movement of other unintended fingers, making it challenging to perform these tasks. This phenomenon is known as Finger Force Enslaving and is…

Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations have been used for decades to predict the chemical properties of compounds and materials. While DFT calculations are highly chemically accurate, they are computationally costly to perform for systems containing many atoms. On the other hand, classical mechanics-based molecular dynamics (MD) simulations can be performed at a larger scale and…

Polyurea is an elastomer that has shown unique properties under large compressive stresses indicating that it may be a promising armor coating material. High-pressure testing at a synchrotron will utilize x-ray scattering to observe how the polyurea responds to large compressive stresses at the atomic level. For these tests, a high-pressure cell containing the sample…

Delivering spatial audio through speakers, rather than headphones that deliver audio directly to the ears, produces the issue of crosstalk, where sounds from each of the two speakers reach the opposite ear, inhibiting the spatialized effect. This research team has developed an algorithm called Xblock that solves this issue using a crosstalk cancellation technique. This…

While natural light is desired for buildings, unwanted heat is simultaneously gained through windows, which burdens the building energy consumption for cooling, in particular, during the hot summer in Phoenix. This project studies the radiative sky cooling effect of a visibly-transparent high-emissivity glass window in a combination of outdoor testing and heat transfer analysis. The…

Pharmacokinetics involves the study of the movement of exogenous chemicals such as drugs and imaging agents through the body. Modeling the passage of a hypoxia targeting imaging agent using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) would allow for the identification of tumors, as well as the characterization of their hypoxic and normoxic regions. Fermi filters were designed…

This framework aims to enhance productivity and education in multi-user virtual reality. A classroom setting is used to show how education can be impacted, such as when an instructor splits the class into groups to solve tasks together. Different tools have been created to facilitate collaboration, including three-dimensional drawing, model spawning, and expressive avatars. User…

The project seeks to address the research question: Is hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), a layered two-dimensional (2D) material, a promising candidate to implement brain-inspired (neuromorphic) computing devices and circuits? To answer this question, comprehensive electrical measurements and statistical analysis of h-BN memristor (i.e., an electrical device with programmable resistance) will be conducted and analyzed using…

Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLA) are encoded by a polymorphic set of genes where even a single base change can impact the function of the body’s immune response to foreign antigens (Gao, 2001). Although many methods exist to type these alleles using whole-genome sequencing, few can use the more popular RNA sequencing with its inconsistency in…

Stress prediction in law enforcement can serve to better prepare officers for the intensity of their work. To further understand the physiological triggers that induce stress, the use of machine learning can determine the patterns in which stress is likely to occur. However, current models should be improved upon to provide more accurate results. This…

Additively manufactured (AM) materials are being used increasingly in many industries, specifically the health sector. AM materials are highly advantageous as they can be quickly produced and are custom-created to exactly fit the application. In this research, the fatigue life of AM Ti-6Al-4V is studied and compared to the fatigue life of standard produced Ti-6Al-4V….

In this study, features of a single-stage gas gun at the Adaptive Intelligent Materials & Systems Center are reconfigured to achieve the optimum performance of the system with consistent results. These features include a new barrel and chronograph. Impact/dynamic tests are conducted using a wide range of applied gas pressure and projectiles with varying shapes…

This project aims to quantitatively assess the modulus of elasticity of carbon fiber nanotube 2D membranes using Quali and Takayanagi mathematical models and comparing the mechanical properties calculated using those models to mechanical properties collected from Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) in order to determine the accuracy and viability. The ability to calculate the modulus of…

The research team developed an Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC) blend that retained significant mechanical strength for 3D printing applications. The blend consists of type II/V Portland cement and fly ash, limestone, and slag as cementitious replacement material. Fibers were added to the mixture for tensile reinforcement, but were limited by the capacity of the auger to…

Current surface exploration swarm vehicle concepts have been designed to navigate the environment specific to their proposed mission destination, resulting in a design that is too dependent on its use-case to be deployed to alternative planetary body types without the need for major structural changes. The objective of this research is to analyze the performance…

The compliant nature of a soft robot’s material and design offers certain challenges when it comes to modeling and control. The lack of rigid structures allows the system to bend along its entire length and in any direction instead of at specific joints, like in a rigid robot. Moreover, the actuation, generally pressure controlled, does…

Hydrogels are 3D interconnected systems of polymer chains that can soak and store liquid, this characteristic makes them supple and soft. Electroactive hydrogel-based microgrippers respond to stimuli and demonstrate the potential to be used in biomedical usage due to their biocompatibility, flexibility, and compact size. Their design and motion in an aqueous environment are studied…

The objective of this study was to characterize an array of control mechanisms to strictly regulate inducible gene expression in cyanobacteria. To achieve this regulation, multiple constructs encoding secondary structures were designed and integrated into expression plasmids, preventing the normal processes of central dogma. In conjunction with the primary control found in the inducible promoter…

A Janus Particle is a special type of nano or microparticle whose surface has two or more distinct physical and chemical properties. The aim of this research is to explore novel Janus topology by fusing plasmonic nanoparticles with mesoporous structures seeking novel materials functionalities. The exceptional geometric engineered plasmonic responses coupled with distinctive mesostructured technology…

Chlorinated ethene contamination is present at hundreds of sites around the U.S. and threatens the health and quality of living in many communities. Complete reductive dechlorination of chlorinated ethenes to ethene is possible by the anaerobic bacteria Dehalococcoides mccartyi which uses H2 as an electron donor for the process. Microbial chain elongation (MCE) has recently…

Imagine the possibility of a cure for one of the most prevalent problems associated with aging. Numerous individuals experience difficulty getting out of bed, sitting, or performing normal tasks due to weak knees. This issue also affects manual laborers who may be compelled to change careers or retire as a result of the strenuous repetitive…

We will investigate the inflammation response an in vivo sample has upon varying polymers. This will include, but will not be limited to, polymers such as: Neomycin-GDE Polymer (NG), Paromomycin-GDE Polymers (PG), and Apramycin-GDE Polymers (AG). These investigations will lay the foundation for the use of these polymers in future work as the inflammation response…

This project focuses on developing an interactive web interface that evaluates the effectiveness of various shade structures based on certain parameters. During this semester, the interface has been improved by calculating the shortwave and longwave radiations that are needed to get the hourly mean radiant temperature (MRT). The web interface displays a working graph that…

In this work, the research team has engineered Corynebacterium glutamicum with the metabolic pathway for the production of naringenin, a natural anti-Alzheimer’s, an anti-bacterial, and anticancer medicine. The engineered strain overexpresses the heterologous proteins CHI, CHS, and 4CL that convert coumaryl-CoA and malonyl-CoA to naringenin. The team is also working on developing 3 more strains…

With the field of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) evolving, several solvers are developed to obtain parameters in a flow. However, interpreting and visualizing this data remains slightly difficult. Techniques such as Augmented Reality (AR) will make it easy to understand a certain phenomenon by having an immersive and interacting experience. AR can provide students insight…

IMUs (Inertial Measurement Units) are commonly used to monitor patients who are prone to falls. With the help of these devices, the research team will simultaneously collect data on both old and younger adults and establish the baseline for fall risk modeling: detecting fall risk in its early stages, preventing it, and providing an effective…

Accurate assessment of the performance of ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) requires capturing inherent manufacturing-induced flaws including defects, voids, and pre-existing cracks. Comprehensive microstructure characterization along with uncertainty quantification are necessary to generate representative volume elements (RVEs) suitable for high-fidelity physics-based multiscale predictive models. Therefore, the objective of this research is to construct a dictionary of…

Lignin, a naturally occurring biopolymer composed of aromatic carbons, can serve as a feedstock for the sustainable production of several valuable chemicals otherwise obtained from crude oil. However, because it is difficult to break down lignin into its components, it is currently burned for fuel and thus underutilized. To unlock the potential of lignin as…

This project seeks to analyze the physical properties and chemical composition of the toner used by ASU photocopying machines. Because current paper recycling processes require toner to be removed from paper, the manufacturing of recycled paper is expensive and can result in more greenhouse gas emissions than newly manufactured paper. There is growing interest in…

Farmers markets (FMs) serve an important role in local food economies. FMs are multi-scalar operations that involve a number of decision-makers: farmers, market managers, and local residents. FMs provide economic benefits to individual farmers, as they serve as a marketplace where local and regional growers and producers can sell products to customers, yet, unlike traditional…

Subthreshold events are essential because they provide the foundation for neuroplasticity, adjusting the likelihood of reaching an action potential threshold. These events may be visualized on a microscope platform with voltage-sensitive dyes (VSDs). VSDs are often employed for cortex level changes, however, this ignores local cellular activity. A fluorescence-guided micropipette electrode can be utilized to…

Recognizing and localizing objects in the 3D space is crucial for a more accurate representation of the environment for various use cases. While significant progress has been achieved with expensive LIDAR systems, 3D object detection is a challenging task given only a single image (without depth information). The research aims to implement a deep learning network that…

Understanding the CNT interphase is crucial in discovering potential uses for the multifunctional nanomaterial. Nanocomposites such as CNT are relatively new multifunctional materials that can be utilized in many promising fields, ranging from spaceships to supercapacitors. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is used to characterize the effect of CNT network interphase in Buckypaper membrane on fracture…

Mining activities are inevitable for industrialization, but mine tailing disposal creates a severe environmental impact. Identifying the applications of mine tailings as potential secondary raw materials would help develop better waste-management techniques. This project focuses on the development of alkali-activated mine tailing binders. In order to attain binders with acceptable compressive strength ranges, different ratios…

Trophoblasts are cells that populate the human placenta and release extracellular vesicles called exosomes, involved in cell-to-cell communication. Trophoblasts are believed to be involved in site-specific immunomodulation and their exosomes may play a role in preventing immunological attack of the fetus despite presenting foreign antigens. Isolation of these exosomes and their encapsulation within hydrogel macroencapsulation…

Pancreatic islet encapsulation has the potential to reverse Type 1 diabetes by protecting transplanted beta cells from immune-cell destruction while allowing passive diffusion of nutrients through a synthetic non-degradable hydrogel barrier. Strain promoted alkyne-azide cycloaddition (SPAAC) reactions, also called copper-free click chemistry, occur at biological pH and temperature, lack cytotoxic catalysts, and have tunable gelation…

Saffman-Taylor instability is a fluid dynamics phenomenon that can be used to create dendritic formations that are structurally unique. These dendrites can be used as identification tags, with their distinctive patterns preventing forgery. The physical characteristics of these dendrites are derived from the rheological properties of the fluid material used to produce the branching structures….

Metal-organic frameworks, also known as MOFs, can be artificially synthesized, and Mg-MOF-74 has been selected. The research analyzes the carbon dioxide adsorption selectivity among ambient air and the functional ability in humid environments. The study concludes that carbon dioxide’s adsorption selectivity is high. Also, the performance of Mg-MOF-74 will sharply decrease its absorption ability in…

The research team is examining the High Cycle Fatigue (HCF) behavior of thin wall Inconel 718 samples created with additive manufacturing. This is accomplished through the constant-force cyclic testing of printed dog-bone samples. Seven different sample thicknesses (0.3, 0.35, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.5, and 2 mm) and two different post-processing thermal treatments are being considered….

The network properties of multiwalled carbon nanotubes in low weight percentage nanocomposites have never been investigated before. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) based Peak Force Quantitative Nanomechanical Mapping (PFQNM) was employed to study the network properties of multiwalled carbon nanotubes in low weight percentage (0.1 wt% to 1 wt%) nanocomposite materials. The data collected will be…

Disordered hyperuniformity (DHU) is a recently discovered state of matter that demonstrates exciting physical properties. By creating a computer model that represents DHU the research team hopes to demonstrate the effects of DHU on materials and showcase potential applications. DHU could heavily impact radar-based technologies as it is isotropic and can be engineered to have…

The current lab production of Solid-State Electrolyte (SSE) for lithium-ion batteries is limited to planar geometries and random porosities. Although SSE has shown improvements, it still faces dendrite propagation issues. Additive manufacturing, known for its rapid prototyping, enables the materials and hierarchies to be modified to mechanically avert dendrite propagation and prevent further degradation of…

Encapsulation is a promising technology to deliver cell-based therapies to patients safely and with reduced need for immunosuppression. Macroencapsulation devices are advantageous due to their ease of retrieval, and thus enhanced safety profile, relative to microencapsulation techniques. A major challenge in macroencapsulation device design is ensuring sufficient oxygen transport to encapsulated cells, requiring high surface-area-to-volume…

Concrete develops strength rapidly after mixing and is highly influenced by temperature and the curing process. The material characteristics and the rate of property development, along with the exposure conditions, influence volume change mechanisms in concrete and the cracking propensity of the mixtures. This cracking tendency can be predicted by measuring the shrinkage in concrete….

Several assistive devices and products have been made available in the market in the past few years for the visually impaired. These devices provide feedback to the user through senses such as audio, tactile and haptics. However, most of them lack a comprehensive solution spanning object recognition, text recognition, haptic feedback, and depth mapping, and…

The use of flexible drones has increased in recent years and testing these designs takes time and effort, because virtual testing environments are rarely available. This project aims to make a high-fidelity simulation to run virtual tests on one such flexible drone: SQUEEZE. Physics-based simulators can test both its hardware utility and flight control software…

With the increase in demand for drones with high endurance times for surveillance operations, the current mechanisms proposed in literature include rigid graspers to help perch the drones on various objects and perform energy harvesting. This grasper mechanism has certain limitations since it cannot conform to irregular objects and also increases weight. To overcome this,…

With the objective of minimizing the power losses in a 2 MHz LLC resonant converter, a novel multi-variable multi-constraint design optimization algorithm is developed and analyzed in this manuscript. Intricately curated constraints and corresponding design-based trade-offs are explained for a complete co-design of a multi-MHz resonant converter that result in an efficiency enhancement of 3.46%,…

In this research project, the researcher aims to assess the viability of virtual reality (VR) as a means of creating poverty simulations so as to allow later efforts to take advantage of the benefits the medium brings over traditional physical simulations. To this end, the researcher is constructing and testing a minimum viable product (MVP)…

The maternal-fetal interface is challenging to investigate in in vivo models due to species-specific differences in placental development and ethics evaluating placental development in humans during gestation. The research team aims to develop a 3D placental microfluidic culture system (trophoblast-on-a-chip model) to mimic the human placental microenvironment by reproducing key placental microenvironment elements such as…

Trichloroethene (TCE) is a ubiquitous groundwater contaminant worldwide. Aerobic cometabolism is a possible bioremediation approach for diffuse TCE plumes. This research evaluates TCE cometabolism (using propane and oxygen as substrates) in the presence or absence of acetylene and 1,4-dioxane. Acetylene is a microbial inhibitor that could be used to decrease biomass production and minimize bioclogging…

Radiative heat transfer between two planar surfaces can exceed blackbody limits when its separation distance is less than the characteristic wavelength of thermal radiation. In this MORE research, preliminary mathematical calculations are performed to theoretically study near-field radiative heat transfer between boron nitride nanotube (BNNT) thin films. It is a daunting challenge to experimentally characterize…

Pneumonia remains one of the leading causes of global mortality affecting 2.49 million people annually due to poor diagnostic measures. In recent years, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have emerged as easily accessible biomarkers for use in point-of-care diagnostics. The objective of this study is to detect biomarkers of pneumonia through custom-built technology for monitoring VOCs…

The researcher will manufacture a dry carbon nanotube (CNT) network in a 2D buckypaper membrane. The researcher will use Peak Force Quantitative Nanomechanical Mapping (PFQNM) to measure the interphase thickness between the CNT network and the epoxy resin. Weibull model will be used for statistical analysis of the interphase thickness.

Current quantum devices aim to leverage quantum mechanical features in tandem with classical computing resources to iteratively solve high-value problems even the best supercomputers would be incapable of. For instance, one application of quantum neural networks (QNN) is to find the ground state energy of molecules. However, the utility of such algorithms is currently limited,…

In this paper, the research team investigates using Supervised Contrastive Loss (SCL) instead of Cross Entropy Loss (CEL) as the loss optimization function in existing machine learning models that are used to predict T-cell receptor (TCR) and Epitope binding affinity. The goal of SCL is to pull positive examples away from negative ones in latent…

Our research group recently developed a fluorescence technique for sensing the melting transitions of semi-crystalline thermoplastics and has been extended to an in-situ study of non-isothermal melt crystallization by monitoring the T-dependent fluorescence intensity of fluorescent probes. The first derivative of this intensity data provides insight into the onset, peak, and endset crystallization temperatures, all of…

With the uncertainty and high-risk nature of infectious diseases, rapid testing is needed to protect the community from an epidemic. A new antigen testing method using Gold Nano-Particles (AuNP) is used to detect viral concentration based on light absorbance of the samples. A system consisting of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and photodiodes has been used as…

Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) offers sustainable replenishment of groundwater resources using treated wastewater effluent. Antibiotic Resistance Genes (ARGs) may withstand wastewater treatment, conferring the ability of bacteria to resist antibacterial treatments. This presents a human and environmental health concern as the efficacy of antibiotic treatments for common infections is reduced. Optimized treatment and safe management…

The goal of this experiment was to examine the energy absorption properties of origami-inspired and standard honeycomb structures varying the materials and wall thickness. The results indicate that origami-inspired structures perform best at energy absorption at a higher wall thickness with a rigid material. The results also indicated that standard honeycomb structures perform better with…

Advances in machine learning (ML) have allowed researchers to simulate human behaviors. One such behavior is content generation. This field of artificial media creation is difficult to perfect as there are multiple ways an ML model can perform poorly. This difficulty affects the quality of the generated content and does not truly mimic the human…

Poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG)-Polyurethane polymers are currently being investigated for biomedical applications such as tissue regeneration, heart applications, and wound healing. Improving the overall properties of PEG-Polyurethane can address a variety of clinical needs. The focus of this research is to optimize the overall properties of PEG-Polyurethane for regeneration by looking at structure, molecular weight…

This study investigates the spatiotemporal instabilities of mixed convection in horizontal channels through 3D printing of transparent channels and dye injection flow visualization. Flow channels are printed using a digital light processing (DLP) 3D printer and polished until they become transparent. The flow visualization technique used is the dye injection method in which a high-speed…

Over the years, the Shepard-Metzler Mental Rotation Task (MRT) has proven to be a reliable tool for assessing people’s visuospatial ability. This study will compare the online 3D MRT to the 2D version, using this technique to examine how people learn and perform motor skills. The Ursina Engine is being used to create a 3D…

Current natural gas reserves lie trapped in dense rocks. As such, to access these gas resources efficiently, a better understanding of its production mechanisms is required. The research starts with a study of a volumetric expansion-driven drainage flow of a viscous compressible fluid from a small capillary and channel in the low Mach number limit….

Ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) are known for their durability, stiffness, and high-temperature tolerance whereas the problem with these CMCs includes the lack of mechanical flexibility and ability to withstand superior fatigue. As seen in nature, the acorn weevil rostrum displays such properties of flexibility and toughness that prevent high structural damage. In this proposed research,…

Ceria (CeO2) can be used to split CO2 in a two-step thermochemical process. Oxygen vacancies are formed in the ceria by endothermic reduction at high temperatures. CO2 is used to oxidize the ceria, and the vacancies are filled by oxygen in the carbon dioxide, producing CO. The introduction of a high electric field allows the…

The structural design of small UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) remains an under-explored area of research in the realm of aircraft design. While composite structures are becoming more prolific in industry, these technologies are often out of reach for use in smaller UAVs, which are subject to tighter budgetary and personnel constraints. As such, this FURI…

Buildings, consuming ~40% of U.S. total energy, exhibit significant operational inefficiencies leaving an opportunity to implement various energy-efficiency measures. Time series building energy data analyses in the past gave insights into building operation and characteristics, specific insights into HVAC scheduling, daily operational variation, and the relative impact of temperature and solar radiation complementary time series…

This research verifies the effectiveness of improving posture stability through vibrotactile biofeedback under oscillatory circumstances, which is simulated by the force platform. Subjects were asked to perform a quiet stance on the force platform wearing the biofeedback device and the same protocol was performed on the other day after lower body exercise to induce fatigue….

Poly Lactic Acid (PLA), a thermoplastic polymer is well known for its biocompatibility, making it ideal for the manufacturing of biomedical devices. However, the current applications of PLA are limited by its intrinsic polymer characteristics. To enhance these properties, a biocompatible nanodiamond enhanced PLA filament has been studied. Four printing parameters — nozzle temperature, layer…

Previous work incorporated mechanophore, a material that undergoes chemical or physical response under mechanical stress, into an epoxy resin to create a composite that emits fluorescence under stress. This fluorescence can signal stress prior to mechanical failure and provide early damage detection. The work improves shape memory polymer epoxy with self-sensing and self-healing capabilities. This…

The United States Department of Agriculture provides requirements for a farm operation to become certified organic, but how do these regulations influence nutrient management? There is insufficient evidence to show the current regulations on nutrient sourcing and application are feasible and effective. An online survey was administered to owners and operators of organic farms. Survey…

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally, where 84% of cases are diagnosed late when treatments are no longer effective. Limitations in current diagnostic tools have resulted in dedicated research identifying volatile organic compounds (VOCs) specific to cancer. Due to altered biochemical pathways, it is hypothesized that different cancer cells have unique…

The noninvasiveness and increased tissue contrast of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) make it an advantageous diagnostic tool relative to its contemporaries, such as CT and PET scans. In high-field MRI, particularly in 3T systems, standing wave effects are present due to the shorter wavelengths proportional in size to the patient, generating bright and dark spots…

Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs) are a new class of crystalline and porous polymers constructed by covalently linking organic monomers into 2D or 3D ordered networks. Due to their high surface-area-to-volume ratio, tunable pore size, and controllable chemical reactivity, COFs offer unique functionality for molecular separation, sieving, and catalysis applications. Imine-linked COFs are particularly attractive owing…

Conventional petroleum-based polymers are not biodegradable, or easily recyclable. The goal of this research is to synthesize crosslinked photopolymers via thiol-disulfide exchange reactions. These materials may be synthesized by a one-step reaction with commercially available materials, encouraging future scalability. Specifically, thiol-containing monomers and multifunctional alkenes undergo photopolymerization in the presence of a photo-initiator, forming a…

There is interest in pursuing solid-state batteries as an alternative to the liquid/polymer gel batteries mostly used today. Sintering has been proposed to process solid-state batteries, but powdered particles can pack differently from one iteration of sintering to another which overall impact the efficiency of solid-state batteries. The research team is focused on studying packing…

Sulfate-reducing biochemical reactors (SRBRs) are a passive treatment method for acidic mining-influenced water (MIW) from active and abandoned mine sites. In an SRBR, microbial communities degrade lignocellulosic substrate, producing electron donors for sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB). Sulfate reduction produces free sulfide and alkalinity, which remove dissolved heavy metals characteristic of MIW as sulfide precipitates and neutralizes…

Due to energy, economic, and logistical difficulties, the poor polymer recycling rate remains a difficulty for humanity today. The usage of thermoplastic materials in the industrial and public open-source additive manufacturing sectors is increasing exponentially, resulting in an increase in worldwide polymer consumption and waste generation. A first step toward achieving this goal is to…

The research question that this project seeks to address, is the following. Is it possible to create an immersive virtual reality system for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), capable of providing a sense of presence? If we are able to determine that this is possible, the solution will help us determine the level of…

Geobacter sulfurreducens are bacteria that use cellular respiration to naturally convert carbon substrates into harvestable electricity. Important morphological information of two structures involved in this process remains to be elucidated: conductive protein filaments, called microbial nanowires, and intracytoplasmic membranes (ICMs). In this work, cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and confocal microscopy were used…

Only 16% of plastic products are recycled annually, and polyolefin polymers are at the top of plastic production. Polyolefin polymers include high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), and cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE). Our focus is recycling XLPE, which is a by-product of disposing of electrical cables in Arizona. One utility company disposes of…

The current research aims to better understand how the modality of in-vehicle alerts affects attention allocation for identification and response to simultaneously occurring driving hazards. The research will use a driving simulator to compare the effects of two stimuli (audio, visual) as alerts on the response times to a secondary hazard. Based on existing research,…

Nowadays, there are over 260 million registered vehicles in the United States (most of them are passenger vehicles), and as a result, road safety is an important issue for everyone. However, road safety is often studied based on safety-critical events such as accidents. Traditionally, traffic incidents are reported by police and witnesses manually, which is…

Nowadays, there are over 260 million registered vehicles in the United States (most of them are passenger vehicles), and as a result, road safety is an important issue for everyone. However, road safety is often studied based on safety-critical events such as accidents. Traditionally, traffic incidents are reported by police and witnesses manually, which is…

Aperiodic cellular materials are an instance of a patterned cellular material in which randomness is introduced into the geometry generation. This change in cellular design can be used to distribute forces in the structure to modify its mechanical properties. Of specific interest in this work, the material can be designed to optimize energy absorption per…

Investigating possible solutions to high entry velocities associated with the usage of a space elevator launch system for a mission to the Jovian moon of Callisto is crucial to feasibility. Employing high-velocity methods, such as a space elevator launch, greatly reduce the travel times and allow for the increased possibility of human colonization. However, the…

Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) can be used to augment the amount of information in datasets. However, upon training on certain datasets, GANs can magnify already existing biases in them. In image datasets, biases pertaining to protected attributes such as race or gender could be exacerbated, resulting in harmful societal consequences. This study aims to evaluate…

The Yellow-billed Cuckoo is a riparian obligate species in Western North America, meaning that its survival is tied to the health of riparian ecosystems. Degradation of suitable habitat due to human activity has caused significant decline in the population of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo. This has led to the population being listed as “threatened” under the…

This project aims to improve the performance of a previously researched nanocomposite which fluoresces when physically damaged/strained. Shortening the amine crosslinker used is hypothesized to increase crosslink density and cause the fluorescence mechanism to activate at lower strain levels. This damage detection would prove useful in aerospace manufacturing or building materials as an early warning…

With the utilization of a space elevator, the distant reaches of the solar system can finally be prospected for human colonization. The Jovian moon Callisto provides the best chance of establishing a self-sufficient colony based on the geological composition of the moon. This project will determine the first series of supply missions, over a span…

This research investigates the utilization of neural summation resulting from multisensory integration during action inhibition. Combining the race model inequality, which implies neural summation from bimodal stimuli, with the stop signal (SS) tasks, which infers inhibition performance, allows an investigation of psychophysics integrating to cognitive processes. At present, experimental design is finalized and the set-up…

The research conducted in this project seeks to expand the applicability of a recently introduced and experimentally verified variable impedance controller which dynamically modulates both damping and stiffness to inject or dissipate energy and apply stiffness on an estimated trajectory. Previous work implemented the stiffness application along an estimated linear trajectory using an algebraic sum…

Common methods of testing mechanical properties of micro-scale systems need a collection of specialized parts that are costly and difficult to set up. A new uniaxial testing apparatus that has been proposed takes advantage of less costly methods such as 3D printing of tensile fixtures and image reference markers for accurate data acquisition. With such…

Human walking is associated with exertion that results in muscle fatigue. Fatigue is an important parameter that determines the deviation of abnormal gait. But accurate forces to an abnormal gait using robots can reduce muscle fatigue and correct the gait deviation. This active control of the ankle assisting device features a variable impedance controller. This…

Silver is used for the in-situ formation of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) on thin-film composite reverse osmosis membranes to mitigate biofilm formation. A concentration of 10 mM NaNO3 with Na2S was used to form a partial Ag2S layer observed to slow down the release of silver nanoparticles. In this study, a toxicity assay using Pseudomonas…

3D printing/bioprinting and gene activated matrix are promising techniques to fabricate scaffolds with well-controlled and patient-specific structures and gene delivery for tissue engineering. In this study, we developed derivatives of silk bioink consisting of silk fibroin mixture then 3D printed into scaffolds and further treated with therapeutic DNA. The scaffolds would be evaluated for gene…

Solar cells built using PEDOT:PSS represent a possible new way forward for solar cell technologies. One of the current dilemmas with widespread use of solar cell technology is that large-scale solar panels are less energy efficient than other widely available energy sources. PEDOT:PSS based solar panels have shown great potential for future energy generation. The…

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare but aggressive cancer that resides in the pleural space surrounding the lungs. While treatment options are available, the median survival rate for MPM remains poor. Biological processes, such as ubiquitination, are known to influence protein and cell function. Hence, this research initiative examines cell proliferation and cell apoptosis…

The task of analyzing long-term wind speed trends across Arizona initially began with sorting data to show what the long-term windspeed trends across Arizona are. Through collection and analysis of the AZMET wind speed data, it was found that the wind speeds tended to decline with respect to time. In the next semester of FURI…

Soft robots could be used directly with humans without the danger that is inherently associated with rigid robots. Currently, one major issue with soft robots is the lack of reliable sensing unless using a motion capture system. This system must be used in a lab. This study investigates a Kalman filter-based sensor fusion of an…

Soft robotics incorporates physically flexible bodies and electronics into robots to achieve organic movements for carrying out tasks. The octopus is a soft-bodied animal and bioinspired insights can be gained by studying its muscles. Electromyography (EMG) studies the electrical activity of an octopus arm’s muscle response and distinguishes the degree that each muscle is involved…

Rotary Series Elastic Actuators are commonly used in rehabilitation exoskeletons due to their inherent compliance creating a level of safety and comfort. Designing and manufacturing torsional springs for this purpose that can withstand high loads while having a low spring constant is a challenging task. Existing solutions commonly rely on using multiple planar springs in…

This project aims to achieve sub-second transient cryothermal measurements of radiative coatings by iterating upon an existing custom cryostat platform. The modifications include suspension of the sample holder within the vacuum chamber to minimize conduction heat loss and an addition of a heat flux sensor between a heating stage and the sample. Existing samples, including…

Selenate is a soluble oxo-anion frequently found in water, which at high concentrations can have a toxic effect on human health and the environment. Alumina is an effective adsorbent material for removing selenate from water, but is not selective and can adsorb other chemical species, reducing its effectiveness. Using forces calculated from machine-learned electron densities…

The research question that this project seeks to address, is the following. Is it possible to create an immersive virtual reality system for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), capable of providing a sense of presence? If we are able to determine that this is possible, the solution will help us determine the level of…

In a previous study, it was discovered that aminoglycoside-derived cationic polymer microbeads (called Amikabeads) have significant binding affinity towards negatively charged plasmid DNA due to coulombic interactions. The purpose of this study is to develop a small library of modified Amikabeads with a variety of DNA-intercalating chemotherapeutic drug molecules to modulate the ability of DNA…

The environment today is facing concerns about over-accumulation of plastics in landfills as well as excessive CO2 emissions. Containers and packaging take up approximately 15 million tons each year, and accumulations such as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch are entering the oceans. Work has been done to alter and treat polyethylene plastic to be added…

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) are devices that convert hydrogen and oxygen into water and electricity. Current collection is a big challenge for these devices because the electrodes are often porous making it difficult for the electrons to transport due to limited conductivity. An extensive literature review on microtubular SOFC current collection has been undertaken…

Lidar and camera sensor data are utilized, along with an object detection model, to recognize vehicles and their distances from the sensor system. This research project would help drivers by serving as a tool to help recognize potential dangers on the road. It also has the potential to be integrated into the car’s system to…

Optimizing the extraction of desirable solvents with enzymes will help develop a sustainable biological model for producing esters.

Through a series of experiments and adjustments, a single-stage gas gun at the Adaptive Intelligent Materials and Systems Center is calibrated for accurate and consistent use when launching projectiles at a desired velocity. Using a wide range of aluminum and steel projectiles with varying shapes and weights, both the velocity of the projectile close to…

Regenerative medicine utilizes living cells to replace or repair damaged or diseased tissue. Living cells are constantly changing and reacting to their environment, therefore the manufacturing process to get those cells requires techniques for careful monitoring of the dynamic situation. Spectrophotometry is a candidate for such a technique, as it is non-invasive and can analyze…

Previous studies highlight the critical role that upregulation of Kruppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) plays in promoting the pathological phenotype of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). This FURI project adopted a CRISPR Interference (CRISPRi) approach to perturb KLF4 expression and exert an anti-proliferative effect on cultured VSMCs. Specifically, small guide RNAs (sgRNA) targeting the KLF4 gene…

Current techniques for internal organ sealing and repair can cause additional trauma, may lack adhesive properties, or cause an inflammatory response. The focus of this study is to develop a film that, when activated by light, will adhere to the target tissue, while keeping the edges of the wound approximated, providing an alternative to sutures,…

The research will develop a multiphase composite direct ink writing 3D printing process using two dissimilar polymer and nanoparticle solutions. The fabricated samples possess shape memory, which means that after exposure to suitable external stimuli (i.e., temperature or magnetic force), the samples will recover to their original shape after deformation. This class of objects is…

The motivation behind this research is to identify a relationship between ambient temperatures and power system efficiency, specifically within transmission and distribution (T&D) elements, to suggest methods to create a more resilient system. To achieve this, Ansys, a high-level modeling software, is utilized to conduct a coupled analysis between electromagnetic induction and ambient thermal stress….

The development of additively manufactured sintered wicks and heat pipes will allow for the design and creation of integrated heat sinks and pipes in designs not possible through standard manufacturing processes currently relied upon. It is also possible to explore designs of more efficient thermal dissipation designs, such as those seen in nature. This work…

This research is concerned with analyzing a new type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) called magnetic resonance electrical impedance tomography (MREIT) which may be able to be used to more directly image brain activity. By measuring where electrical current is flowing through the brain, MREIT should be able to show which areas are more conductive,…

Ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) are known for their durability, stiffness, and high-temperature tolerance whereas the problem with these CMCs includes the lack of mechanical flexibility and ability to withstand superior fatigue. As seen in nature, the acorn weevil rostrum displays such properties of flexibility and toughness that prevent against high structural damage. In this proposed…

This project explores how specific hydrocarbons interact and chemically react over surfaces. The chemistries of common gaseous hydrocarbons are investigated over common infrastructure materials coated with a temperature-regulating (cool coating) material. Chemical adsorption and reaction are characterized, and a mathematical relationship between air pollutant removal over the coated surfaces as a function of temperature and…

The Allen Brain Atlas offers an atlas of gene expression across the whole mouse brain, but spatial transcriptomic datasets are beyond direct interpretation. Reducing dimensionality with principal component analysis (PCA) and partitioning with k-means clustering yields labels that reflect classical anatomy, albeit imperfectly and at the cost of gene information. We perform supervised classification with…

This project is aimed at developing a robust classification and reconstruction mechanism capable of accurately estimating and correcting the position of objects that are hidden behind line-of-sight obstacles. This is achieved by applying techniques of ray casting/tracing, edge detection and estimation on images collected from a mmWave camera testbed. These results can be applied to…

Dehumidifiers are essential household appliances in many tropical regions of the world, where high ambient humidity can lead to negative health effects ranging from physical discomfort to mold-related sicknesses. Common dehumidifiers are based on mechanical refrigeration cycles using refrigerated copper tubing as a condenser, where condensed droplets are shed by gravity alone. Recent advances in…

The HLA, Human Leukocyte Antigens, are encoded by a polymorphic set of genes where even a single base change can impact the function of the body’s immune response to foreign antigens (Gao, 2001). Although many methods exist to type these alleles using whole-genome sequencing, few can use the more popular RNA sequencing with its inconsistency…

The standard Haber-Bosch process to produce ammonia (NH3) for use in agriculture applications is both energy and resource-intensive. This research advances a cost-effective alternative to ammonia production using catalytic activity tuned for ammonia production from nitrate reduction via three-dimensional nano-enabled electrodes. The combined electroactivity of copper and cobalt nanoparticles onto an affordable electrode medium (nickel…

Hyperbolic metamaterials (HMMs) are nano-engineered metal-dielectric composites that feature extraordinary wave-vector dispersion and spontaneous emission engineering. These properties count strongly on the structural parameters such as unit cell size and the quality of the interface. Conventional HMMs are produced via top-down technologies (e.g., e-beam lithography, focused ion beam), which have inevitably suffered from the limitations…

Neuroinflammation has been implicated in nearly every neurodevelopmental, and degenerative disease, yet the capability to manipulate neuroimmune cell types remain limited. Microglia, a neuroimmune cell type, have developed a resistance to established viral tools. However, it has been shown that Zika Virus can suppress the microglial immune response. In recent years, research into Zika has developed…

This research explores the ability to use control algorithms and AI to stabilize electronics in a rocket payload bay. Since the payload is often quite delicate (expensive satellites, robotics, and other spacecraft), special care is put into the rocket design and the choices of electronics to ensure that no damage occurs from the violent vibrations…

As record heatwaves are being seen across the globe, new tools are needed to support urban planners when considering infrastructure additions. This project focuses on developing an interactive web interface that evaluates the effectiveness of various shade structures based on certain parameters. The interface requests user input for location, date, and shade type, then returns…

Pregnancy is a natural phenomenon where tissue types of different antigen signatures co-exist without eliciting an immune response from the host. Immunomodulation occurs in a site-specific manner at this interface and trophoblast cells found in the placenta are believed to play a role. In order to understand and mimic this site-specific immunomodulation, trophoblast representative cell…

Multi-tethered rover (MuTheR) systems present an improved way to explore the terrain in lunar and planetary missions by utilizing the teamwork and buddy-system advantages associated with robots physically connected together. Part of a larger NASA project aimed towards the planning, estimation, and control of MuTheR systems, the fall semester component of this project involves implementing…

This project explores the potential of 3D-printed jet-based cooling heat exchanger, also called 3D-printed jet cooler, to cool electronic devices. Unlike traditional metal-based jet coolers, this 3D-printed jet cooler will be fabricated using polymers which considerably reduce the fabrication cost while still offering wide geometric freedom that would offer new designs and possible configurations. The…

Phage-assisted continuous evolution (PACE) is a revolutionary new method to rapidly engineer new genes and proteins, but the method requires extensive automation and expensive chemical inducers for precise control of gene expression. The researcher is developing an advanced method of synthetic gene regulation for process control, using optogenetics. By integrating light-based gene circuits with custom…

Explore the tensile and compress mechanical property of Stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing in vertical and horizontal directions which can help the further design with industrial structure engineering. Find the relationship of tensile and compress mechanical property of continuous volumetric printing process with four different levels of grayscales of light resource and printing speed settings. Use…

The research question that this project seeks to answer is the impact of gamification in two engineering courses, one at the freshman level and the other junior, on students’ overall success and motivation, based on academic performance, academic level, and gender. This research question is addressed using both quantitative and qualitative research methods. In each…

Crosslink Polyethylene (XLPE) is a thermoset that degrades carbon dioxide (CO2) before reaching its melting point. Annually, 450 tons of XLPE end up on landfills from electrical cables in Arizona state. Therefore, the object is to create sustainable processes for recycling XLPE by understanding material properties and characterization. For example, one protocol disperses XLPE into…

Developing a microbial platform for the breakdown of recalcitrant biomass will enable the sustainable production of valuable chemicals.

The current research aims to better understand how the modality of in-vehicle alerts affects attention allocation for identification and response to simultaneously occurring driving hazards. The research will use a driving simulator to compare the effects of two stimuli (audio, visual) as alerts on the response times to a secondary hazard. Based on existing research,…

The Yellow-billed Cuckoo is a riparian obligate species in Western North America, meaning that its survival is tied to the health of riparian ecosystems. Degradation of suitable habitat due to human activity has caused significant decline in the population of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo. This has led to the population being listed as “threatened” under the…

In order to improve the current advanced driver assistant system, more accurate input information of the vehicle’s surround is required. The project serves to improve this input information as LiDAR sensor data is not affected by the lighting of the surrounding environment. The project can also be applied in security systems where cameras’ ability to…

Investigating possible solutions to high entry velocities associated with the usage of a space elevator launch system for a mission to the Jovian moon of Callisto is crucial to feasibility. Employing high-velocity methods, such as a space elevator launch, greatly reduce the travel times and allow for the increased possibility of human colonization. However, the…

The possibility of passively absorbing new information while engaging in other activities calls for attention especially in today’s culture where time is valued the most. This topic is generally called Passive Haptic Learning and usually information is transmitted through haptic feedback generated by small vibration motors similar to a smartphone vibration. Previous research determined Passive…

Studying how children with cerebral palsy balance under certain circulstances will inform future rehabilitation methods.

Implementation and testing of data offloading in 5G wireless networks can be accomplished using Software Defined Radio (SDR). Machine learning classification techniques can be applied to identify receiver locations, then deep learning methods utilize the channel data from one receiver to estimate the channel at another, potentially eliminating training overhead for certain channels. Base stations…

The need for controlled drug administration has become increasingly critical for the treatment of neurological diseases. Iontophoresis, a technique that uses current to move molecules, has been explored. The goals of this project are a) develop an iontophoretic method of administering drugs on command through microscale orifices, and b) characterize the transients in drug administration….

Load Managing photovoltaic (PV) system is proven to be an efficient systematic approach to extract the maximum available PV power. The project focuses on developing a feedback-based control algorithm and analyzing real-time experimental data for its improvement. Results show that the new PV system can perform maximum power point tracking without the need for power…

Space elevators have the potential to launch thousands of interplanetary missions within the next 5 decades. The extensive amount of opportunities to explore the solar system allows for a large range of scientific experimentation along with increased interplanetary colonization opportunities. There has been limited research published about the potential transfers so they will be tested…

With limited fresh water available on Earth, pollutants such as fertilizer run-off and sewage create high nutrient levels of nitrogen and phosphorous that threaten the future of safe, drinkable water. One way to remove and recover these nutrients from water includes adsorption using activated carbon. Algal biomass is a cheap and fast-growing carbon source that…

Optimizing bioreactors to produce similar products to petrochemicals would help industries to be more sustainable.

With the utilization of a space elevator, the distant reaches of the solar system can finally be prospected for human colonization. This project will determine that the Jovian moon Callisto provides the best chance of establishing a self-sufficient colony based on the geological composition of the moon. By determining the first series of supply missions…

The objective of the research is to design a horizontal self-burrowing soft robot. Previous research has shown that inducing forward horizontal burrowing involves breaking the time-reversal symmetry of the robot and strategically manipulating the surrounding soil. A successful design is to include multiple segments that each plays a role in the overall movement. This includes…

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are toxic anthropogenic compounds widely used in the industry due to their stability, persistence, and repellency. One reliable mechanism recently adapted for the removal of the so-called “forever chemicals” from water is ion exchange (IX). The research team will evaluate the impact of different operating conditions on PFAS adsorption including anion exchange…

Vascular stenosis, a pathology characterized by plaque buildup in arteries, is associated with a biological hallmark: the phenotypic switch from a quiescent contractile to a proliferative synthetic phase of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). This phenotypic switch subjects VSMCs to the synthetic phase in which cell proliferation and vascular remodeling and restenosis are highly prevalent….

The Allen Brain Atlas offers an atlas of gene expression across the whole mouse brain, but spatial transcriptomic datasets are beyond direct interpretation. Reducing dimensionality with principal component analysis (PCA) and partitioning with k-means clustering yields labels that reflect classical anatomy, albeit imperfectly and at the cost of all gene information. Factorization machines (FM) potentially…

High levels of nutrients in water such as nitrogen and phosphorus impact the survival of aquatic ecosystems and threaten water resources. Other pollutants in water include plastic, which has been worsened by the onset of face mask mandates amid the COVID-19 pandemic. One way to remove and recover nutrients from water is adsorption using activated…

An integral part in improving our recycling process is the development of circular economies. One of the major hindrances to the development of circular economies is the incompleteness of commodity flow data. To tackle this problem, the research team aims to leverage matrix completion methods to fill in missing information. Initially, the methods will be…

Engineering bacteria to convert cellulose into glucose will allow for cheaper utilization of biomass to make sustainable fuels.

Phage assisted continuous evolution (PACE) is a revolutionary new method to rapidly engineer new genes and proteins, but the method requires extensive automation for precise control of gene expression. The researcher is developing an advanced method of synthetic gene regulation using optogenetics, integrating light-based gene circuits with custom hardware for directed evolution. Optogenetic allows for…

Current techniques for internal organ sealing and repair can cause additional trauma, may lack adhesive properties, or cause an inflammatory response. The focus of this study is to develop a film that, when activated by light, will adhere to the target tissue while keeping the edges of the wound approximated, providing an alternative to sutures,…

A new method of additive manufacturing called Projection Micro Stereolithography (PμSL) has made fabricating micro-scale designs more convenient, and is capable of printing high-resolution electroactive hydrogel parts from photosensitive liquid resin. This hydrogel can exhibit in response to an electric field without external mechanical input while submersed. The hydrogel demonstrates large deformations with relatively fast…

Aperiodic cellular materials are an instance of a patterned cellular material in which randomness is introduced into the geometry generation. This change in cellular design can be used to distribute forces in the structure to modify its mechanical properties. Of specific interest in this work, the material can be designed to optimize energy absorption per…

In this research, I present an algorithm that aims at combining behavior such that the resulting behavior has characteristics of each individual behavior. This approach has been inspired by subsumption architecture and motor schema-based mobile robot navigation in the domain of behavior-based robotics. The combination algorithm outputs n weights that combine n behaviors by a…

Over 7 million American stroke survivors require gait rehabilitation due to initial or persistent mobility deficits. Expansion of the “basin of entrainment” is a rehabilitative practice that improves gait uniformity through the application of small, periodic, mechanical perturbations to which the human locomotor system then synchronizes. A soft hip exosuit was developed to administer these…

Arsenic contamination in groundwater is a serious problem in local rural communities: ~20.7% of wells in Arizona exceed the safe concentration of 10ppb. Prolonged exposure to this contamination can cause cancer, vascular damage, and liver failure. As part of a larger effort for the iGEM summer competition to introduce bioremediation genes into the chloroplast of…

Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) can be used to augment the amount of information in datasets. However, upon training on certain datasets, GANs can magnify already existing biases in them. In image datasets, biases pertaining to protected attributes such as race or gender could be exacerbated, resulting in harmful societal consequences. This study aims to determine…

Although additive manufacturing is a rapid prototyping technology, the printing resolution for most commercial printers are limited to microscales, especially the lack of high-resolution structural control in the case of polymer/nanocomposites. This research study demonstrated the efficient technology for 3D printing nanocomposites using multiphase direct ink writing (MDIW), a printer designed and assembled in-house. By…

Tissue oxygenation is an emerging area of study as scientific literature suggests hypoxia playing a key role in the progression of various diseases including cancer, stroke, and traumatic injuries. This research aims to create, using in silico simulations, an oxygen-sensitive MR imaging scaffold (O2S3DMRS) that allows quantitative mapping of the pO2 distribution within a cell…

The translocase of the outer mitochondrial membrane (TOM) complex is the gateway into mitochondria. Phosphorylation of the receptor, Tom22, by the kinases CK1 and CK2 in both animals and fungi control mitochondrial biogenesis and mitophagy. However, whether phosphorylation of Tom22 proteins is widespread across eukaryotes is unclear. In this project, researchers used MUSCLE, HMMER, and…

Rotary Series Elastic Actuators are commonly used in rehabilitation exoskeletons due to their inherent compliance creating a level of safety and comfort. Designing and manufacturing torsional springs for this purpose that can withstand high loads while having a low spring constant is a challenging task. Existing solutions commonly rely on using multiple planar springs in…

Preference-based learning allows for non-expert users to interact with reinforcement learning agents in a way that they can shape their behaviors. This work intends to push the current implementations of preference-based learning forward by introducing binocular vision, multiple perspectives of the agent performing the actions, and multi-agent environments. These three improvements on the existing implementations…

Polymer nanocomposites are the subject of continual promising research due to their multifunctionality and tunability in a wide range of consumer and industrial materials. This research project aims to improve the performance of a previously researched nanocomposite that fluoresces when damaged. The material stress required to provide this damage detection may be tuned to practical…

Given that metabolism can control immune cell function1 and that the presentation of an antigen by anti-inflammatory dendritic cells can lead to the expansion of anti-inflammatory immune responses2, this project aims to synthesize and characterize alpha-ketoglutarate (aKG)-based microparticles (MPs) encapsulating a glycolytic inhibitor, PFK15, and dietary antigen, ovalbumin (OVA), for the eventual induction of tolerance…

The aim of this research is to create a model that can take a text input to classify the content of the message into two categories, Machine Generated and Human Written. This research uses Hierarchical Attention Networks (HAN) trained with PolitiFact data to create the predictive model. This model can be run by websites for…

This study focuses on the development of a soft-bodied finite element analysis (FEA) simulator for the purpose of early phase prototyping. This simulator facilitates rapid generation of design concepts in the creation of miniature soft-bodied robots. An array of designs of varying complexity will be tested using the simulator, and the most promising models will…

The effects of catalytic hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of polyethylene with different catalysts on HTL product distribution will be investigated. The research will help SRP eliminate plastic waste from electrical cable insulators and instead produce useful products. HTL of waste plastics will also address sustainability issues by providing a solution for dealing with plastic waste and…

Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 systems are a vital gene-editing tool for generating in vitro disease models. Since its debut, many CRISPR-derived editing techniques have been created to increase editing efficiency and fidelity. While these techniques all improve some aspects of functionality, there are insufficient resources for determining the optimal workflow for achieving different…

Stooped posture is one of the main characteristic features in Parkinson’s Disease (PD). While the severity of stooped posture (SP) varies from person to person, research has shown that the progression of SP can lead to falls and other debilitating accidents. This project aims at developing a real-time feedback system to provide auditory cues to…

This project investigates an injection molding device for complex hydrogel geometries to macroencapsulate donor islet cells. The injection process requires that cells be mixed with hydrogel and injected into the mold, and therefore are under shear stress and potentially hypoxic conditions during the injection process. To test for cell viability, insulin producing cells were cultured…

In order to provide students with the best education, it is critical to understand what distractors may affect their cognitive abilities. The research focuses on understanding whether patterned or randomly timed audio distractions have a larger impact on the students’ performance. Data will be collected (performance, time on task, distractions) through the use of an…

One of the symptoms of Cerebral Palsy (CP) is the lack of spatial awareness due to the inability to respond well to visual cues. This project seeks to augment visual perception with an auditory feedback system to enhance spatial navigation of a student with CP. When using a wheelchair, the student tends to bump into…

Finding a method to objectively quantify results of colorimetric assays without special equipment is important to increasing the accessibility and portability of point-of-care testing. Point-of-care testing is inexpensive, has quick response times, and has numerous applications ranging from roadside alcohol testing to detecting infections such as COVID-19 or HPV. The focus of this study is…

This project uses a simplified model of a thrust vector-controlled rocket in ascent to design and analyze control systems for such a rocket. The dynamical system describing a rocket in powered flight requires a number of assumptions as well as model simplifications and linearizations in order to be analyzed using basic traditional control design techniques….

The project focusses on controlling scaling resistance in solar membrane distillation by monitoring the role of temperature, hydrodynamic conditions and concentration polarization. The researcher hypothesized that the maximum solar water production efficiency will be found in a medium between scaling resistance and high flux. The objectives of this research are to characterize the tradeoff between…

Understanding human joint mechanical impedance — a measurement reflecting stiffness, damping, and inertia — is a potentially useful metric for diagnostic purposes that can also aid in the design of new rehabilitative robotics. This research focuses on finding what factors related to human gait have an influence on the mechanical impedance of the human ankle…

Tissue oxygenation is an emerging area of study as knowledge suggests that hypoxia plays a key role in the progression of various diseases including cancer, stroke, and traumatic injuries. This research aims to create a 3D in vitro model that allows quantitative mapping of the pO2 distribution within a 3D cell culture with MRI. In-silico…

With relatively small genomes, many species have evolved mechanisms for diversifying their transcriptome (set of messenger mRNA transcripts in a given cell). One of the mechanisms to do so is alternative promoter usage (AP), which generates different transcripts by selecting different transcription start sites (TSS). There are existing methods to computationally analyze these TSS, that…

This research investigates how a robot’s empathy, the ability to allow humans to misunderstand a robot’s intent, optimizes the transparency and trust in the Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). The robot is first integrated with intent inference and motion planning to think and act like a human in a collaboration scenario. Then, an empathetic intent inference algorithm…

Atherosclerosis is the leading cause of death for cardiovascular diseases and the phenotypic switch of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) mediated by the upregulation of KLF4 contributes to the progression of atherosclerotic lesions or plaque development. The objective of this study is to suppress KLF4 expression in VSMCs via a CRISPR interference mediated mechanism and…

This research focuses on the development of a self-correcting 5G ad-hoc cellular network that will connect both fixed and wireless users, regardless of location. A localization proof-of-concept will be prototyped without GPS. The signals are processed coming from USRPs controlled by Raspberry Pis using Machine Learning algorithms to estimate the device’s location. The system will…

The fact that ML algorithms can suffer from significant rounding errors and affect their output has received little attention. Moreover, techniques for avoiding rounding errors tend to be computationally expensive. In this research, we address both these issues by developing efficient roundoff error-free algorithms for solving the sequence of Systems of Linear Equations (SLEs) at…

This project is aimed at utilizing machine learning frameworks to develop an optimized beam training model, capable of predicting the optimal direction of mmWave signal at a considerable success probability, and with no training overhead. This is achieved by using Vision and GPS positional datasets collected from a real-time measurement Testbed. The outcome from this…

Electrical power systems in the modern era are being utilized in sectors like transportation, aerospace, and communication for purposes which demand increasing miniaturization capability, current carrying capacity, and environmental stability. New materials which can replace traditional metal wires like copper and aluminum are poised to fill that growing demand. Axially continuous graphene layers synthesized on…

The purpose of this research project is to utilize statistical analysis techniques to evaluate how exam composition impacts the performance of students on multiple-choice exams. The factors specifically in question are the order in which questions are presented and “Answer not here” being included in the answer choices of an exam. Data on student performance…

Physiological micromotion, such as breathing and vascular pulsations, has a significant impact on the reliability of implants used in neuromodulation therapies. Micromotion-induced stresses and strain are hypothesized to impact neuronal function due to oxidative stress. This study seeks to analyze the biological impact of physiological micromotion simulated by a uniaxial stretch model that induces periodic…

Robot swarms show great promise in performing complex tasks in areas ranging from search and rescue to interplanetary exploration and yet controlling the behaviors of these swarms effectively is an open research problem. This research investigates techniques to control a drone swarm where the drones learn to act using demonstrations obtained from artificially generated swarm…

Silica glasses are an important component for protecting personal and equipment on battlefields. Impact pressures generated by modern weapons can cause silica glass to crystallize from its original amorphous state to a high-density phase called stishovite, impurities in silica glasses prevent this crystallization. To understand the effect on impurities in phase change, molecular dynamics simulations…

The purpose of the research is to shorten diagnostic times by developing a new real-time Photoacoustic Microscopy imaging technique. Photoacoustic microscopy can target naturally occurring absorbers as well as exogenous contrast agents which can reveal information regarding underlying health. Traditional methods require multiple scans to reconstruct an image. By combining Schlieren Optics with Photoacoustic Imaging,…

A web application has been developed to provide data and statistics for comprehensive gene regulatory network of the deadly cancer malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). The web application was enhanced to include additional experimental information from CRISPR-Cas9 knock-out outgrowth screens. The ultimate goal of the website is to function as a hypothesis knowledge base and hypothesis…

This project seeks to determine whether 3D demonstrations can effectively increase the comprehension of fundamental engineering principles for sophomore students. A physical demonstration was fabricated using acrylic plastic in which an integrated force sensor allows students to visualize the output force generated from a specific force input. The demonstration will be deployed in future statics…

Nervous tissue is known to be extremely vulnerable to discontinuities of oxygen and energy substrates. The brain must have a constant supply of energy to prevent abnormal behavior because the vasculature of the brain is coupled to neural processing. Understanding the relationship between the two has only recently been of interest to scientists. Electrocorticography (ECog)…

Ophthalmoscopes are integral to diagnosing a variety of eye conditions, however, they often come at a hefty cost and are not generally portable making access limited. With the increase in the prevalence of smart devices and improvements to their imaging capabilities, these devices have the potential to benefit areas where specialized imaging infrastructure is not…

Neuromodulation devices are a very important therapeutic tool for many neurological disorders such as in deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease. It is important to know how biological and mechanical processes at the brain-implant interface change due to the implant presence. Physiological micromotion (breathing and vascular pulsation) induces mechanical stresses and modulates local oxygen tension…

The goal of this FURI project is to find the particle characteristics that lead to a significant increase to the overall mass flow rate of particle-laden turbulent channel flow. Simulations are analyzed at Stokes number 30, 60, 90 and 100 with a friction Reynolds number of 180. The Stokes number has been varied by changing…

In recent years, perovskite solar cells (PVSCs) have emerged as highly promising solar advancements. This is due to their highly cost-effective manufacturing processes while demonstrating excellent performance. However, the commercialization of perovskite solar cells is hampered by the fact that they are highly unstable, and power conversion efficiency degrades as a result of photo-degradation. The…

Metal oxides have known bulk properties but many of them have not been synthesized in atomically thin or two-dimensional (2D) forms, which can enable new properties and functionality. Materials take on vastly different properties when they are on the nano-scale. These have been utilized in many ways such as batteries, insulation, medicine, transportation, optics, and…

In the recent past, there has been an increase in AI-based systems built to make human database interactions seamless, but they rely on interaction sessions that are extremely small. The objective of this research is to auto-generate spatial SQL queries .We implement generation of two varieties of spatial queries for two different applications namely next…

Recent advances in drones for consumer and professional applications have enabled a wide range of video-based analysis tasks in the air, including urban landscape survey, farmland area counting, and crop yield prediction. However, in the field of transportation system analysis, the capability of “seeing through the traffic from the above” has not been exploited with…

Musculoskeletal tissues, ranging from tendon to cartilage to bone, contains an extracellular matrix with unique fiber alignments and mechanical properties. Designing tissue engineered scaffolds that mimic these tissue properties is crucial for promoting proper healing after injury. This project will explore how mechanical properties of fibrous scaffolds vary as fiber alignment changes. Specifically, the mechanical…

Following neurological disease or injury, such as stroke, it is common for patients to lose functionality and coordination of their lower limbs. Rehabilitation techniques, such as gait training, are widely used in the clinical setting to help patients rebuild their ability to walk independently and efficiently. Previously published studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of split-belt…

The Mini Containers Research project aims to reduce the food waste and carbon footprint of the current technologies used for transporting fresh produce by creating individual environmentally controlled containers that monitor the conditions of the product inside to keep it at optimal levels. This will be achieved by retrofitting the back of a trailer to…

In this work, a pathway within C. glutamicum was to be engineered to produce a flavonoid naringenin. Towards this, as a first step, 4 different plasmid vectors must be constructed with the genes CHSph and 4CLpc, from P. deltoides; CHSat and 4CL2at, from A. thaliana; and CHI, from M. sativa. The process employs a Polymerase…

This research focuses on understanding the melting temperature and crystallization behavior at the interface of multi-layer semi-crystalline polymeric thin films using a location-specific fluorescence technique. The change in emission light intensity of a fluorescent dye-doped or labeled semicrystalline poly(L-lactic acid) film is monitored with increasing temperature. A melting transition region centered at ~170°C was characterized…

Viewing biological processes at depth in tissues is essential for the study and diagnosis of neurodegenerative and neurological diseases. Despite recent advancements, current optical techniques are restricted to an imaging depth of ~1mm due to the scattering of light in tissues. In combination with near-infrared fluorescent proteins (IRFP), photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) systems can use light…

Selenium oxo-anions are toxic substances present in drinking water, these can be removed by using Hematite and Alumina as the adsorbent materials. Density Functional Theory is used to understand the factors affecting the adsorption. Alumina and Hematite have the same crystal structure, allowing to probe composition-dependent effects. The results indicate that outer-sphere adsorption is stronger…

Surface-to-air missiles engage airborne targets. Upon initial detection, the missile is launched and guided toward the target within a lethal radius around the target, in which its warhead can ensure target defeat. Based on the target range, angle, speed, and direction when the missile is launched, these define an engagement envelope within which the missile…

Wide-field photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) images are challenging to display in real-time because these images are reconstructed from multiple one-dimensional scans. This delay limits both research and clinical applications for PAM. Schlieren optics is a technique that can visualize sound using standard microscope cameras. By combining Schlieren optics with PAM, this research aims to eliminate the…

Virtual reality and its integration into online education could make online lab courses better reflect an in-person lab experience. There is a great opportunity for virtual remote education, especially since the recent COVID-19 pandemic. This project aims to continue development of a virtual titration lab experiment that allows for a student to better replicate an…

Solid-state nanopores are a revolutionary technology first devised in the early 1990s that allow researchers to conduct biomolecule analysis, with a potential for fast and low-cost diagnostics. Conventional solid-state nanopores use silicon substrates, however, this project looks to instead utilize insulating sapphire substrates to reduce the high capacitance and noise that is picked up with…

With the rise of autonomous driving systems (ADS), the need for validating the efficacy of the perception subsystems utilized becomes more apparent. The use of Spatio-Temporal Perception Logic (STPL) permits writing formal requirements capable of verifying such systems; however, the development of these written requirements quickly becomes verbose causing overhead in the verification process. Utilizing…

Implementation and testing of data offloading in 5G wireless networks can be accomplished using Software Defined Radio (SDR). Developing a working system through SDR requires overcoming inherent challenges, including compensating for frequency discrepancies between kits, and the synchronization of channel variations caused by non-ideal filtering. Machine learning classification techniques can be applied to identify receiver…

Mesothelioma is a rare and deadly cancer that typically consists of tumors in the pleural cavity of the lungs. This research showcases a regulatory network using the previously built SYGNAL network and patient data to identify target regulators that could be used to inspire targeted and effective treatments. Our previous work found three immune subtypes:…

A UV photoinduced step-growth cross-linked network that incorporates dynamic disulfide linkages into the backbone is reported. Multifunctional enes and thiols are used to create a polymer network via photoinduced radical-mediated thiol-ene “click” chemistry. Particularly, the thiol utilized in this investigation is a commercial liquid, low molecular weight oligomer containing disulfide linkages and thiol end groups…

The objective of this project was to quantify the phosphorus accumulation in the aquifer recharge infiltration ponds at the Gilbert Riparian Preserve and determine if those levels are cause for concern. These ponds are recharged with treated wastewater effluent from the City of Gilbert. Surface water and soil samples were taken from around the central…

High Entropy Alloys have potential for application in structural and aerospace industries due to their desirable material properties. These alloys consist of five or more elements, leading to a large search space for material prediction machine learning models, and highly dimensional empirical datasets. For chemical datasets, it is difficult for models to interpret the output…

In this work, a smart force feedback controller is designed for a Lizard Inspired Tube Inspection (LTI) robot that has force-sensitive sensors embedded in its fingers. The primary function of this controller is to translate the robot application program and convert the commands from its source code to its respective motion. With the help of…

Organohalides are toxic materials present in water that are poisonous to living organisms. A common method for decontamination is through hydrodehalogenation using a noble metal catalyst such as Pt and Pd. However, noble metals are expensive and scarcely present, thus their optimization need to increase. This can be done by using single or neighboring atom…

The Hippo signaling pathway plays a key role in determining organ size and maintaining tissue homeostasis through regulation of apoptosis and cell proliferation. Disrupting the balance between these biological processes allows for pathological tissue states, such as degeneration and tumorigenesis, to arise. The proposed research aims to study the Hippo signaling pathway and how it…

Elderly around the world have been diagnosed with mobility impairment due to various diseases that cause weak joints and muscles. The Kaiteki Project proposes a wearable hybrid robotic system that will assist and support persons in their daily routine. In order to determine if an actuator is acceptable to be implemented on to a person,…

Drug-eluting microparticles have been identified as a method of drug delivery capable of delivering controlled local treatment over time. To address the need of adhering to strict drug delivery standards, this project focuses on creating a MathCAD file capable of calculating and illustrating the effects of a particle batch’s mean and standard deviation on drug…

Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic organisms and reliable sources of renewable feedstocks. Specifically, Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 is a marine strain of Cyanobacteria that is naturally capable of foreign DNA uptake. Replicating plasmids are traditionally delivered to this strain via conjugation, requiring direct cell-to-cell contact. This method is time-consuming and not easily scalable, therefore this research aims…

Rotary drums are tools used extensively in chemical manufacturing industries for heating and drying chemical batches. The objective of this study is to analyze the efficiency of different forms of heat transfer (conduction, convection, and radiation) on particles in a rotary drum. The results of this study will outline trends relating the operating conditions of…

Silver is used for the in-situ formation of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) on thin-film composite reverse osmosis membranes to mitigate biofilm formation. Different concentrations (10-1, 10-3, and 10-5 M) of Na2S to form a partial Ag2S layer were observed to slow down the release of silver nanoparticles. A testbed trial of the sufidized Ag NPs coated membranes…

Proportional-Integral-Derivative controllers (PID) are widely used in rehabilitation robotics and the ability to tune the controllers in the presence of unmodelled nonlinearities is essential to the performance of the controller. This FURI project addresses this issue by exploring a method to intelligently tune a PID controller autonomously using a global search algorithm, adaptive particle swarm…

The research question to be answered by this project would be whether the developed RF (Resonance Frequency) coil could generate the frequency of 297 MHz that is required to operate a 7T MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scanner by the Larmor frequency. The development of the RF coil frame, the resonating structure, and the interfaced circuit…

mHealth Apps, also known as Mobile Health Applications, refers to the “use of mobile and wireless technologies to support the achievement of health objectives,” according to the World Health Organization. This project aims to support the BRIDGES protocol developed by the REACH Institute to aid at-risk youth in learning and practicing skills such as conflict…

A solar steam generator is a device that uses solar energy to produce steam in order to desalinate and purify water. More efficient and cheaper materials are needed to absorb sunlight to heat up the water and make steam. The researcher found a new layered material, boron carbide (B4C) can be exfoliated though bath sonication….

The reticulospinal system of the brain is responsible for learning motor skills. As humans age, the quality and quantity of sleep continually decreases leading to memory and learning deficits. In this crossover study, delays in the reticulospinal system of sleep-deprived participants will be determined through the startle reflex. Electromyography (EMG) muscle onsets of sternocleidomastoids are…

During normal walking, there is significant power required in the ankle to propel the body forward near toe-off. In the case of the elderly or those with neuromuscular disorders, this may be unachievable. This research tracks the development of a wearable hybrid-passive ankle-foot orthosis mechanism in order to assist the human ankle during normal walking….

Metal 3D printing has grown up from its research stage to the fabrication for a wide range of commercial functional applications. Metal 3D printing is now popular in industries to build and repair various mechanical components. This research mainly focuses on pipeline failures that result in increased maintenance budgets, overtime hours for service personnel and…

Interictal spikes are typically regarded as a sign of epilepsy, although their precise role in epilepsy remains vague. This study explores the spatiotemporal dynamics of sequences of interictal spikes in a small patch of the cortex of an epilepsy patient. As hypothesized, interictal spike sequences were found to directionally propagate across the cortex consistently. This…

Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002, a marine strain of cyanobacteria is a great candidate as a cell factory for production of value-added chemicals, such as 2,3-butanediol due to its rapid growth rate. Quorum sensing (QS) systems allow for bacteria to be able to coordinate their behavior based on their population density. This system is less expensive…

A versatile technology for the assessment of cell and tissue viability in different culture systems remains a concern in the biomanufacturing industry. Through this project, the research team studied the phenotypical effects of a ratiometric pH-sensing nanoprobe for the noninvasive monitoring of cells and tissue activities. The research team evaluated the nanoprobe in 2D and…

Carbon emissions are at an all-time high and there are ways to mitigate pollution but few viable carbon negative solutions. Zeolitic carbon capture is a cheap and highly effective method for removing carbon from the atmosphere. The focus of this study is on nanozeolites and measuring their effectiveness of CO2 adsorption from ambient air at…

Energy-free liquid transport has become an attractive research topic for a variety of industries due to its simplicity and its effectiveness. Traditional liquid transport is not ideal since it requires a lot of energy and regulation which limits the advancement of mechanical designs. This proposed research is motivated to address the barrier of creating multiscale…

Metallic structures on polymer surfaces are gaining a lot of interest due to their unique applications such as ICs, antennas, and metamaterials. Most additive manufacturing (AM) can only fabricate 3D objects using non-heterogeneous materials, and how to fabricate the polymeric objects with controllable metallic structures is a critical challenge in AM. In this work, an…

Regenerative medicine utilizes living cells to replace or repair damaged or diseased tissue, but the manufacturing process to get those cells is unlike typical manufacturing. Living cells are constantly changing and reacting to their environment, which in the case of cells isolated from their hosts, is completely unlike what they’re used to. Therefore special technology…

In the Rare-earth-Tri-telluride family, RTe3s [R=La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy, Er, Ho, Tm] the emergence of Charge Density Waves (CDWs) has been under investigation for a long time due to broadly tunable (electrical) properties by either chemical substitution or pressure application. Elemental Rare-earth metal and Tellurium, purity 99%, was used in synthesis by…

Developing a microbial system that increases the production of sustainable solvents like ethyl lactate has environmental and economic impacts. Prior bioinformatics analysis showed ATF1, ATF2 and LgATF1 to be potential genes. In silico and in vitro laboratory studies were performed to confirm their functionality in ester biosynthesis. PCR was used to amplify a small section…

One potential solution to the looming threat of radical global warming is carbon capture with algae-derived carbon adsorbents because of their low production cost. Once synthesized, algae-derived carbon adsorbents will be evaluated for their pore textual properties before their CO2 and N2 adsorption performances in both batch and dynamic columns are analyzed. The analysis done…

Food irradiation is performed to improve the safety of foods by reducing pathogenic microorganisms. Many foodstuffs are irradiated to preserve and prolong their life span. Though a standard symbol exists, very few commercial vendors display it on consumer products. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometers can be used to detect the paramagnetic centers that are created…

Flux Balance Analysis (FBA) is a computational approach to simulate the flux of metabolic pathways in genome-scale metabolic networks in organisms such as cyanobacteria. COBRA toolbox is used to predict the growth rate and production of substances (i.e. lactate) in the presence of single or multiple substrates in a cyanobacterium, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Current results show…

The objective of the research is to synthesize MXene (Ti3AlC2) nanoparticles of a few microns in lateral dimension, without surface defects for microscale patterning. The in-situ HF (LiF + HCl) was used to perform chemical etching of MAX (Ti3AlC2) phase. The anisotropic deposition of MXene flakes was obtained via combining 3D printing and capillary-induced deposition…

Being able to detect and visually map the magnetic field lines would be of interest for both educational and industrial applications. These magnetic field lines describe the direction of the magnetic force and the magnitude of the force on ferromagnetic, diamagnetic, and paramagnetic objects. The detection and visualization of magnetic field lines is conceptual. The…

The properties and characteristics of photocurable nanocomposites can be tailored to mimic those of various tissues and/or cartilage, allowing the bio-inspired synthetic material to replace them. The long-term goal of this project is to 3D print the replacements so they can be tailored to fit individual patients. Therefore, it is critical that the thermal, mechanical,…

This research investigates a method of biologically pretreating lignin using bacteria obtained from rabbit fecal samples, as rabbit diets consist largely of lignocellulose. Under anaerobic conditions, these microbes are expected to consume yard trimming such as grass and bushes with a high amount of lignin, producing volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and methane. VFAs are useful…

The use of a Long Short-Term Memory Network-based domain-agnostic predictive pursuit agent is proposed as an alternative to conventional methods such as Kalman Filtering. The empirical results from the pursuit-evasion game establish the superiority of the proposed framework as attested to by lower capture times. This active pursuit framework enhances the ability of autonomous vehicles…

This research will study temperature-dependent spectral properties at the microscale by combining a microscope setup for Microscale Optical Reflection and Transmission (MORT) that analyzes light spectrum and the Scanning Laser Thermoreflectance (TR) setup that measures temperature using the optical reflectance for simultaneous measurement of both properties. Previous research has been done with TR to analyze…

This study introduces a virtual cane (VC) device for improving standing balance. Unlike typical canes, VC does not provide any physical support but haptic feedback to help users adjust their posture. Human experiments (containing 3 identical sessions) were conducted to justify the benefit of using VC during postural control. Subjects were asked to perform quiet…

This study investigated the impacts of 2-dimensional oscillatory perturbations on human standing balance. A dual-axis robotic platform was utilized to apply oscillatory perturbations and evaluate the subject’s postural stability during quiet standing. Impacts of perturbation direction, amplitude, and frequency on postural stability were investigated by analyzing different stability measures, specifically center-of-pressure (COP) path length, Time-to-Boundary…

Urbanization has increased air pollution in the lower atmosphere, thereby calling for the development of methods of active and passive air pollutant removal from the troposphere. Work was undertaken to characterize the air pollution reduction capabilities of a titanium dioxide (TiO2)-coated cementitious material. The surface was exposed to known concentrations of O3. The system was…

This project explores the use of Model-on-Demand (MoD) estimation to model noisy, nonlinear time series data. MoD estimation has been examined for two applications: (1) a continuously-stirred tank reactor and (2) walking behavior from HeartSteps, a microrandomized study that aims to encourage physical activity. While the former demonstrates that MoD can be applied to noisy,…

Cyanobacteria have the potential to efficiently produce L-serine, an industrially important amino acid, directly from CO2 and sunlight, which is a more sustainable and inexpensive source of energy as compared to current methods. The research aims to engineer a strain of cyanobacteria that increases L-serine production by mutating regulatory mechanisms that natively inhibit its production,…

PEDOT:PSS based solar cells are a promising renewable energy source. They have exhibited high energy efficiency while still maintaining stability. The problem with these types of solar cells is that they are not easy to produce in large quantities. Current methods of material deposition rely on spin-coating, which is acceptable for small-scale manufacturing but not…

This research project aims to control the density and morphology of the 3D printed nanofilm for optimum energy conversion efficiency. To fabricate individual solar cell layers, an additive manufacturing (AM) process is used in conjunction with an electric field. Challenges include accurately controlling the parameters to produce an even density coating. In this project, printing…

Cellulases are enzymes that are crucial for the breakdown of cellulose into glucose, the primary carbon source in bacterial systems. However, the current method of using commercial cellulases is very costly. Present work aims at engineering bacterial strains for efficient cellulase production. Bacteria was engineered for expression of beta glucosidase and the enzyme activity was…

Conventional traditional manufacturing involves enormous waste materials and consumes a lot of energy and time. Additive Manufacturing technologies provide a sustainable manufacturing environment and possess the ability to produce parts with 3D complex geometric shapes directly from scratch. However, most additive manufacturing produces parts in a layered manner so that it is time-consuming for material…

In time-resolved series of TEM images taken of supported nanoclusters in gas environments, it is observed that the nanoparticles can undergo dynamic structural reconfigurations that give rise to unique contrast features in the image. The purpose of this project is to develop a methodology for understanding how structural dynamics might give rise to experimentally observed…

As the backbone of many critical infrastructure systems, assured Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) is crucial to maintaining our national security. In the battlefield environment, the availability of devices that provide an accurate, synchronized timing reference is essential for unified execution of the mission. Research is being done to integrate a Global Positioning System (GPS)…

Research was performed on the failure modes and governing equations for composite materials under tension and compression in the areas of local panel buckling, shear stress, compressive yield stress, crippling, and tensile yield stress. The research is focused on square tubes used in the main support structure of small UAS (Unmanned Aerial System). Testing was…

This research is concerned with analyzing a new type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) called magnetic resonance electrical impedance tomography (MREIT) in an effort to be able to use it to directly detect neural changes. By measuring where electrical current is flowing through the brain, MREIT should be able to show which areas are more…

Similar to how animals use signals of varied frequencies to detect and locate objects, a fast Fourier transform (FFT) will allow for an efficient way to analyze signals. Implementation of this fast, low-power method on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) will enable remote, autonomous object sensing and detection systems. With the advancements in technology, faster…

Following the physical adversarial attacks faced by Deep Neural Networks (DNNs), controllers learned using such DNNs with Reinforcement Learning (RL) approach are also vulnerable particularly in risk-sensitive areas such as Autonomous Driving (AD). This research aims to study such attacks on AD mainly in the Spatio-temporal domain in the presence of adversarial physical objects on…

This project explores the potential of a 3D-printed jet-based cooling heat exchanger, also called a 3D-printed jet cooler, to cool electronic devices. Unlike traditional metal-based jet coolers, this 3D printed jet cooler will be fabricated using polymers which considerably reduce the fabrication cost while still offering wide geometric freedom that would offer new designs and…

This research project explores the applicability of low-altitude hypersonic missile detection using artificial intelligence (AI) implemented on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The ability to defend against hypersonic missiles depends on the ability to accurately detect them. Low-power FPGAs are a potential solution to this problem. Research into how well FPGA-based AI algorithms are able…

Testing is an invaluable method used to monitor and limit the spread of COVID-19. However, global shortages of reagents and instruments make it difficult to perform routine high-volume testing. Studies have shown that pooled (group) testing is an effective way of reducing the number of tests needed to diagnose a population. This study compares the…

The objective of this project is to design and model transmission dynamics of COVID-19 in a closed learning environment for the purpose of analyzing and comparing methods for alternative classroom configurations. In particular, an agent-based simulation model is developed with real-life class registration data from Cornell University to analyze the impact of splitting classes to…

The motivation behind the group’s research is to fabricate the physical structures for implementing a new type of frontier in wireless sensing and communication. To achieve this, a rugged yet easy-to-implement system to bias the antenna correctly is needed for reliable transmission of information. This build was specifically fabricated for a 160-element reflectarray antenna, but…

This project aims to determine the extent that traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects lower motor neuron (LMN) degeneration and neurodegeneration within the cervical region of the spinal cord post TBI. The spinal cords were sectioned and slide mounted for immunohistochemical evaluation. Immunostains include morphological and cell-specific staining to detect neurodegeneration. Sections were imaged using microscopy…

The goal of this work is to create a new class of multiphase liquid metal pastes with designable properties through the incorporation of solid and liquid additives. Liquid metals represent a unique opportunity due to their metallic properties and deformable nature. These liquid metals can be used to create a new line of cheaper and…

Five million people in the United States live with disabilities caused by traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBI can break down the blood-brain barrier (BBB), the membrane that regulates what enters the brain. While BBB breakdown is problematic, it provides a unique opportunity to use nanoparticles for drug delivery to the injured brain. This research aims…

Load Managing photovoltaic (PV) system is proven to be an efficient systematic approach to extract the maximum available PV power. The direct-coupled load-managing PV system controls and matches the number of loads with the connected PV array to extract the maximum amount of power throughout the day. The project focuses on developing a feedback-based control…

This project’s motivation is to determine a method of measuring the amount of Cyanophycin (CGP) produced in E. coli cultures that express native Cyanophycin Synthetase (CphA). CGP is an amino acid polymer with an aspartic acid backbone and arginine side chains. CGP must be extracted and purified from E. coli cell cultures before being measured…

Cancer vaccines generate robust antigen-specific anti-tumor responses by adjuvant-mediated induction of high energy-consumption state in immune cells. Unfortunately, this elevated and sustained energy immunometabolism mediated activation of immune cells is associated with toxicity and induction of autoimmune diseases. Moreover, because of immunosenescence due to aging, there is a reduced proliferation and potency of lymphocytes (T…

Currently the weight of small UAVs cannot be accurately estimated by the commonly used empirical equations that were derived for full-sized aircraft. As weight and their related moments of inertia are critical for early clean sheet design. A tool is developed to estimate these values through rigorous stress and physics-based methods. This is done on…

This project proposes a new method in delivering vismodegib, a chemotherapy drug that is taken orally for the treatment of basal cell carcinoma (BCC). BCC therapeutics in chemotherapy tend to suffer from systemic dosage, where the drug is injected intravenously or intramuscularly, which causes the drugs to indiscriminately affect the entire body. This experiment investigated…

Touch plays an essential social role in fostering and maintaining emotional communication in human relationships, which has changed due to the current pandemic. The research team proposes to create a haptic platform capable of generating vibrational/thermal haptic patterns individually and simultaneously. This device explores the social and emotional quotient involved during communication, which is absent…

Evaluated how local voltage changes due to interictal spikes impact action potential firing using intracellular recordings and the Hodgkin-Huxley model. The Hodgkin-Huxley model showed inactivated action potentials being generated by large depolarizations. The Hodgkin-Huxley model confirmed the effect of large interictal spike depolarizations on action potential firing and inactivation. This supports the hypothesis that interictal…

In this project, the team is developing a model to quantify the complexity of Sankey diagrams, which are a type of visualization technique that shows flow between groups. To do this, the team created a carefully controlled dataset of synthetic Sankey diagrams of varying sizes as study stimuli. Then, a pair of online crowdsourced user…

Societal development has created a significant rise in air pollutants, resulting in the need for a system that can assist in its reduction. Titanium dioxide, a photocatalytic material that is known to have depolluting capabilities, may be incorporated in or on concrete structures and used as a passive system for depollution. The purpose of this…

As the use of deep learning in computer vision becomes integrated in many technologies including self-driving cars, electronic banking, and security systems, attackers are seeking to exploit weaknesses that are imperceptible to the human eye, but trick computers. This research explores more robust methods to train deep neural networks so that they are resistant against…

Pretreatment membranes can be utilized for a wide variety of filtration applications and can remove biological to inorganic foulants. A promising strategy to produce pretreatment membranes is through electrospinning, which creates nanoscale, nonwoven fibrous mats of polymeric materials with an exceedingly high surface area to volume ratio. PVA (poly(vinyl alcohol)) is the choice polymer due…

Elderly around the world have been diagnosed with mobility impairment due to various diseases that cause weak joints and muscles. The Kaiteki Project proposes a wearable hybrid robotic system that will assist and support persons in their daily routine. In order to determine if an actuator is acceptable to be implemented on to a person,…

Musculoskeletal tissues, ranging from tendon to cartilage to bone, contains an extracellular matrix with unique fiber alignments and mechanical properties. Designing tissue engineered scaffolds that mimic these tissue properties is crucial for promoting proper healing after injury. This project will explore how mechanical properties of fibrous scaffolds vary as fiber alignment changes. Specifically, the mechanical…

The objective of the research project is to determine if an IR camera is capable of being mounted on a standard off the shelf DJI Spark drone. The first experiment will be to design and fabricate a housing to mount the hardware to the drone. The next experiment will have the IR camera system mounted…

With the increase in commercial space travel and companies attempting to go further into space, engineers are looking for ways to make electronics more resistant to ionizing radiation through radiation (rad) hardening. Current methods are mostly used by government contractors or niche design groups. This research seeks to develop open-source design procedures for creating robust…

The focus of this study is to design a machine learning model that can classify alcohol test strips as positive or negative from cell phone photos taken under non-standard conditions. A software algorithm that can objectively determine results from colorimetric assays under non-standard conditions will improve the accessibility and portability of these strips, supporting point-of-care…

Drug delivery methods can be demanding on the patient and require them to administer drugs on their own. This is demanding and tedious on the individual. Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs) are being experimented with as another alternative to drug delivery. With these COFs, the goal is to create a novel drug delivery mechanism that will…

Steel is used to strengthen concrete used for infrastructure. Concrete is composed mostly of cement, water, and aggregates. While most of these ingredients are sourced naturally, cement must be manufactured; a process that contributes a substantial amount of carbon emissions. In an effort to reduce the amount of cement used in concrete this research focuses…

The objective of this research is to develop creative ways of generating SQL queries during a Data Exploration session. This research aims to develop  efficient methods of collecting human interactions on databases. In order to achieve this, the research team has been trying and implementing various methods of Data collection. In this research, we explore…

In the previous study polymer microbeads (namely Amikabeads) were developed which contain a monomer (Amikacin Hydrate) and a cross linker (PolyEthylene Glycol Diglycidyl Ether or PEGDE). This research is looking at the modification of these microbeads with different lipid ligands to modulate the hydrophobicity and their preference of binding towards methylated vs unmethylated plasmid DNA…

The project focusses on controlling scaling resistance in solar membrane distillation by monitoring the role of temperature, hydrodynamic conditions and concentration polarization. The researcher hypothesized that the maximum solar water production efficiency will be found in a medium between scaling resistance and high flux. The objectives of this research are characterizing the tradeoff between flux…

Germanium dioxide has known bulk properties but has not been synthesized in a thin film form. Materials take on vastly different properties when they are on the nano-scale. These have been utilized in many ways such as batteries, insulation, medicine, transportation, and optics[1]. Previous research by the Wang Research Group[2] showed that molybdenum trioxide (MoO3)…

Considering the applications and popularity of electric fixed-wing UAVs are growing, it is critical to quickly obtain performance data on aircraft platforms to verify and optimize design. Research is conducted via the development of modular instruments onboard a miniature electric aircraft platform. These instruments are capable of measuring orientation, position, thrust, angle of attack, altitude,…

During natural water disasters, conventional water supplies may be inaccessible or unsafe for use. However, the atmosphere, which contains 3.4 quadrillion gallons of water, serve as an obtainable source for drinking water. For this technology to be widely applied, there must be an understanding of the impact climate and location have on water yield, energy…

This study explores polydispersity as a method of mitigating vortical flows. A cluster of particles with ranging sizes will be dispersed in the core of a vortex to observe the rate of dissipation and vortex evolution. One main motivation for this study is that vortices affect airport efficiency and persist in the atmosphere in the…

This study dives into the robocall ecosystem to find more about the humans behind spam phone calls and their economic models using robocalls. Spam telephone calls rampant occurrence shows a clear weakness of authentication and security in our telephone systems. Understanding more of how the people behind robocalls work within their environments will allow for…

This study focuses on the development of a soft-bodied finite element analysis (FEA) simulator for the purpose of early phase prototyping. This simulator facilitates the rapid generation of design concepts in the creation of miniature soft-bodied robots. An array of designs of varying complexity will be tested using the simulator, and the most promising models…

Composite materials, specifically carbon fibers, are becoming more common in applications that require high tensile strength and modulus. Typically, carbon fiber is given structure by its long continuous fibers; however, the fiber reinforcements’ anisotropic nature often requires the fibers to be highly aligned to obtain advantageous material properties. This challenge imposes limitations on the fibers…

A web application has been developed to provide data and statistics for comprehensive gene regulatory network the deadly cancer malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). The web application was enhanced to include additional experimental information from CRISPR-Cas9 knock-out outgrowth screens. The ultimate goal of the website is to function as a hypothesis knowledge base and hypothesis generator…

The objective of this project is to design a product with the capability of gathering health diagnostics from a pet and relaying that information to its owners. The goal is to use a harness equipped with sensors that can analyze the animal’s heart rate, breathing rate, and temperature. Just as humans’ wearable technology impacts early…

The research question is “How can Spatio-temporal data be visualized on a graphical plot within the Lampy project of the DataSystems’ Lab?” By using high-level Python libraries and data set software such as Matplotlib, time-series can be visualized. Likewise, spatial data can be visualized from the shapely library from GeoPanda, another similar software. However, if…

Social Value Orientation (SVO) is a measure of ones’ preference to allocate rewards between themselves and another person.  Previous research in human modeling for autonomous driving has incorporated SVO estimation into their prediction models, however, SVO does not always dictate behavior.  The environment itself can influence behavior and even help to prime SVOs.  The research…

Chlorination is the most common approach to disinfecting water, however in underserved communities lacking appropriate training and technology, it is often difficult to maintain the optimal concentration of chlorine. To increase the accuracy of chlorine dosing, an automated chlorine dispensing system is being developed using a programmable ball valve. The system is able to use…

The objective of this research is to demonstrate the effect of polymer type on the filtration properties of electrospun MOF fibers. HKUST-1 and UiO-66 are both ultraporous metal-organic frameworks with known dye filtration properties which will be electrospun with the polymers polystyrene, polyvinyl alcohol, and polyvinylpyrrolidone to compare their effectiveness at the dye filtration of…

As augmented reality mobile applications become more ingrained in everyday life, so do privacy concerns regarding these applications, the objective of the proposed research is the development of a framework that will protect users’ visual data while they are using such applications.The current model separates applications into two distinct processes network and visual, and then…

Can a neural network be used to speed up finite element analysis in certain material simulations? The researchers built a pipeline to generate thousands of finite element analysis maps and preprocess the data to be used by machine learning algorithms. Multiple architectures have been trained on the data and their effectiveness was measured. Preliminary data…

With the growing use of software across the globe, the need for automated security auditing of software has never been more critical. One of the pillars that support automated security auditing techniques on software is the construction of control flow graphs (CFGs) for the target software without accessing the source code, a.k.a. binary programs. A…

This work investigates how different methods of soliciting and aggregating input from multiple people best inform visual detection tasks. A crowdsourced experiment is developed which asks hundreds of study participants are asked to identify if an object is or is not in an image. Then, aggregation techniques such as majority voting, confidence weighted voting, and…

Pharmaceuticals are an integral part of many peoples’ lives and while billions of dollars are poured into research and development little is known about the effect of process variables on the resulting particle size distribution. This project is aimed at discovering the link between different batch compositions of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and acetaminophen (APAP) and…

Chlorination is the most common approach to disinfecting water, however, it requires a precise concentration level to work effectively. Determining how much chlorine to add is often difficult for these communities due to limitations in current single-use chlorine concentration testing methods. This research project involves the development and testing of a chlorine sensor that can…

Previous modes of image analysis were determined to be unfit for efficient usage in laboratory analysis tasks. Improvements were made upon the Java application created during Summer 2020 FURI, including heightened automation ability, cell counting, and overlaid signal characterization. The precision tools included in the customizable program allow for time efficient and accurate analysis of…

The goal of this research is to create a database of how a string of fluid, or ligament, breaks up into droplets due to an external flow. With this database, a model can be created to predict how the ligament breaks up in different types of external flow. In order to build the database, a…

Near-field thermal radiation across nanoscale vacuum gaps is predicted to achieve heat flux that exceeds blackbody limit. The objective of this project is to experimentally demonstrate the super-Planckian radiative heat transfer with a home-built thermal metrology that uses a laser-heated AFM bi-material probe. The temperature change of the silica microsphere attached to the probe tip…

Solar thermophotovoltaic (STPV) energy conversion is seen as a viable option for efficiently converting sunlight to electrical energy. A selective absorber-emitter absorbs the concentrated solar radiation and selectively releases infrared radiation toward the photovoltaic cell. This radiation is then absorbed by the cell and converted to usable electricity. This project seeks to study the efficiencies…

Neural Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs) present a new pathway for the reversible modeling of many-body systems, including those for the predictive analysis of particle interactions. Such modeling can determine destination trajectories for cancer cell coupling interactions in the extracellular matrix given respective start or end-points, assisting in targeting potential cell cluster convergence for preventative removal….

Data proliferation has made Machine Learning (ML) algorithms ubiquitous. However, the fact that ML algorithms can suffer from significant rounding errors and affect their output has received little attention. Moreover, techniques for avoiding rounding errors tend to be computationally expensive. In this research, we address both these issues by developing efficient roundoff error-free algorithms for…

Understanding the metabolic pathways by which carbon substrates are assimilated is an important quest in metabolic engineering. The first experiment was performed to analyze the assimilation paths for labeled and unlabeled glucose in E. coli strains engineered for ethanol biosynthesis. Results indicated production of labeled ethanol from the labeled substrate. The second experiment was performed…

Olfactory appeals in virtual reality (VR) systems create more immersive experiences ideal for medical, military, and extreme environment training. However, smell is still rather underdeveloped compared to visual, auricular, and haptic functions in VR because scents are complex in their chemical composition and relation to human emotion, spatial characteristics, and timing. This research project strives…

In time-resolved series of TEM images taken of supported nanoclusters in gas environments, it is observed that the nanoparticles can undergo dynamic structural reconfigurations which give rise to unique contrast features in the image. The purpose of this project is to develop a methodology for understanding how structural dynamics might give rise to experimentally observed…

Virtual reality and its integration into online education could make online lab courses better reflect an in person lab experience. There is a great opportunity for virtual remote education especially since the recent COVID pandemic. This project aims to develop a second iteration of a mixed reality device, SWISH (Shifted-Weight Interface of Simulated Hydrodynamics) which…

The hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of waste plastics with algae and different catalysts will allow for the study of the effect of feedstocks on the HTL product distribution and help SRP convert plastic waste from electrical cable insulators into useful products. The research will address sustainability goals by investigating a solution for plastic waste and producing…

One potential solution to the looming threat of radical global warming is carbon capture with algae-derived carbon adsorbents because of their low production cost. After algae-derived carbon adsorbents have been synthesized, they will be evaluated for their pore textual properties before being pelletized for use in column breakthrough experiments. Once pelletized, their CO2 and N2…

The goal of this project is to study the mechanical properties of Nanodiamond (ND) fillers in nanocomposite resin for Stereolithography (SLA) 3D printers. In pursuit of this goal, three specific research objectives will seek to: (1) Study the mixing process of ND-OH in SLA printable acrylate resin, (2) Study the printing parameters for the nanocomposite…

This research explores the inhomogeneous interphase properties of three-phase polymer matrix composites (PMC). PFQNM was utilized to detect an abrupt transition in reduced modulus from 8-10 GPa to 4-7 GPa between agglomerated CNT nanoparticles and surrounding epoxy matrix, respectively. Agglomerate stiffness is found to be related to CNT orientation and density. These results verify the…

The research question to be answered by this project would be whether the developed RF (radio frequency) coil could generate the frequency of 297 MHz that is required to operate a 7T MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanner by the Larmor frequency. The development of the RF coil frame, the resonating structure and the interfaced circuit…

It is critical to understand what frequency distractors may affect students’ cognitive abilities. The research focuses on understanding whether patterned or randomly-timed audio distractions have a more considerable impact on the students’ performance. Pre-existing data will be used to get a better understanding of the effect that audio stimuli have on the subjects’ cognitive abilities….

Carbon emissions are at an all time high and there are ways to mitigate pollution but few viable carbon negative solutions. Zeolitic carbon capture is a cheap and highly effective method for removing carbon from the atmosphere. Breakthrough behavior is determined by measuring the CO2 & N2 adsorption of zeolite pellets in both batch and…

Robot swarms show great promise in performing complex tasks in areas ranging from search and rescue to interplanetary exploration and yet controlling the behaviors of these swarms effectively is an open research problem. This research investigates the control of robot behaviors in a swarm system where robots learn to act in their environment using demonstrations…

Many online learning environments follow a structure that offers students digital learning resources to explore independently, followed by an assessment to test student comprehension of the resources. Student comprehension is affected by organization of information such as advance organizers or scaffolds. Previous research has shown that deep reasoning questions are one such discourse scaffold that…

Corrosion is one of the foremost causes of stainless-steel (SS 316L) pipeline failures. In phase II, the corrosion performance of welded Selective Laser Melting (SLM) printed structure is studied along with the mechanical strength using tensile testing. Microscopic characterization is carried out using SEM and measurements of percentage mass loss, modulus, yield strength, and ultimate…

Nanocomposites are the combination of multiple nanomaterials in a composite structure. Their great popularity has created a clear challenge in terms of nanosafety and risk assessment. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the toxicological effects to predict their potential health and environmental implications. Microcystis aeruginosa, freshwater cyanobacteria, was used to test a dose-response using concentrations…

Identifying objects and estimating the volume enclosed by these objects is a critical index in determining the viability of autonomous vehicles (AVs) and is crucial for inculcating safety measures. Including the camera data, exploiting valuable information from high precision instruments like LiDAR has proven to be significantly effective in achieving 3D object detection and classification….

The motivation behind the group’s research is to fabricate the physical structures for implementing a new type of frontier in wireless sensing and communication. While several aspects of the design are subjected to intense study, the focus of this project will be to implement a universal biasing system where the integrity of the signal is…

Spatialized audio gives the user the perception that there is sound coming from a source in a 3D environment. Meteor Studio has developed an algorithm that enables the spatialization of audio through two speakers, which is done by eliminating crosstalk generated from the two speakers. Crosstalk comes from unwanted interference from the opposing audio channel…

Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 systems are a vital gene editing tool for generating in vitro disease models. Since its debut, many CRISPR-derived editing techniques have been created to increase editing efficiency and fidelity. While these techniques all improve some aspects of functionality, there are insufficient resources for determining the optimal workflow for…

To provide students with an optimal education, it is critical to understand what traits of distractors affect their cognitive abilities. The research focuses on understanding what frequency at which audio distractions are presented have a greater impact on the students’ performance. Pre-existing data will be used to determine the effect that the frequencies of audio…

An in-depth understanding of the shock-compression behavior of silicate glasses is vital to the development of plate glass used for armor applications. This research intends to increase our understanding of the shock-compression behavior of pure silica glass (SiO2) by answering the following question. Does the pressure applied during the quenching process of molten silica to…

The objective of the research is to develop a benchmarking framework with a unified API and benchmarks to allow researchers in this field to quantitatively evaluate new algorithms. To achieve fair and extensive comparisons, all data-driven methods are implemented in PyTorch, and are compared to state-of-the-art model-based methods that are implemented in MATLAB, with a…

The Concrete Canoe competition consists of student-led university teams who design, construct, present, and race a full-size canoe made of lightweight concrete. The ASU ASCE Concrete Canoe team will work for the semester to design a theoretical canoe to be utilized for the 2021-2022 competition. The team will revamp the concrete mix design, create the…

The goal of this research project is to recreate haptic fluid sensations, specifically modeling the thermal properties of chemical fluid interactions. This research fits into the development of virtual remote chemistry education so that users could experience a chemistry reaction in virtual reality, and feel it in real life. In order to accomplish this, the…

Organohalides are toxic materials present in water which are poisonous to living organisms. A common method for decontamination is though hydrodehalogenation using noble metal catalyst such as Pt and Pd. However, noble metals are expensive and scarcely present, thus their optimization needs to increase. This can be done by using single or neighboring atom catalyst…

Lithium-ion batteries (LIB) have become an attractive power source for a variety of electronic devices due to lightweight, high energy density, and multiple recharge capability. Conventional nanomaterial fabrication methods of LIBs anodes encounter a bottleneck in controlling geometric morphologies of microstructures, and such limitation causes low energy densities and converting efficiencies. This proposed research is…

Elderly around the world have been diagnosed with mobility impairment due to various diseases that cause weak joints and muscles. The Kaiteki Project proposes a wearable hybrid robotic system that will assist and support persons in their daily routine. In order to determine if an actuator is acceptable to be implemented on to a person,…

Rotary drums are tools that play a vital role for heat transfer in the chemical processing industry because they distribute heat uniformly to particles in a particle bed. The energy consumption for industrial-scale rotary drums is high and methods to improve the overall efficiency of rotary drums have not been fully explored. The purpose of…

Composites are gaining popularity in the aerospace, automotive, and civil industries since their properties are attractive for products in these fields. The focus of this research is to develop a virtual testing framework that could be used as a predictive tool to characterize the behavior of structural composites including failure so that future designs using…

The long-term goal of this research is to transplant encapsulated beta cells into a diabetic recipient and eliminate insulin injections. Beta cells succumb easily to hypoxic environments. To test oxygen levels non-invasively, we are using oxygen sensitive nanoprobes that give off a readable signal detected by using H-MRI. The thrust of the research so far…

Cancer can be treated through immunotherapy, a personalized treatment to train a person’s own body to create an immune response towards cancer cells. The problem arises in understanding when a cancer cell is recognizable to the body as harmful. The researcher created a graph-guided neural network to predict cellular bindings given major histocompatibility complexes of…

Stainless Steel 316L and its reaction with Ag+ were investigated because of its use as a biocide in potable water systems on spacecraft. The objective of this study is to stop the depletion of Ag+ by precoating the SS316 coupons with aluminum oxide, silver nanoparticles, and sulfidized silver nanoparticles. This is hypothesized to prevent depletion…

Wide-field photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) images are challenging to display in real-time because these systems only gather one dimensional depth scans per laser pulse. Reconstructing these images is time consuming since it requires two-dimensional raster scanning. This delay limits both research and clinical applications of PAM. Schlieren optics is a technique that can visualize sound using…

The purpose of the research is to model the flowability of bulk-solids/powders, thereby helping in the industrial handling and processing of such substances to be more efficient and sustainable. Flowability of varying grain sizes of glass beads with different moisture percentages were evaluated on the FT4 Powder Rheometer employing the shear cell test. The data…

Understanding human joint mechanical impedance – a measurement reflecting stiffness, damping, and inertia – is a potentially useful metric for diagnostic purposes that can also aid in the design of new rehabilitative robotics. This research focuses on finding what factors related to human gait have an influence on the mechanical impedance of the human ankle…

Mesothelioma is a rare and deadly cancer that typically consists of tumors in the pleural cavity of the lungs. A CRISPR/Cas-9 knockout screen was performed to study the effect of knocking out genes across the human genome on proliferation in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) cells. Ubiquitin-Specific Proteases were found to have a significant effect on…

Nanocomposite (NC) resins have demonstrated its capability to improve properties of parts fabricated by stereolithographic (SLA) additive manufacturing (AM) thus fostering their end-use application. Nanodiamond (ND) filled acrylate polymers have observed significant improvement in thermal conduction of the NC. However, studies on SLA AM resins involving ND have been rarely found in literature. The researcher…

Quantifying human standing stability under 2-dimensional (2D) dynamically unstable environments is critical since those environments are related to falling and its consequences. This study investigates the standing stability under 2D compliance. The two-axis robotic platform was used to simulate different compliant levels in sagittal and frontal planes. Fourteen young healthy subjects were recruited. Participants were…

Is there a mismatch between urban farmers’ perceptions of their farm’s environmental sustainability and its actual environmental impact? Focusing on the use of water and nutrients on each farm as described by the farmers through interviews, it is evident that there is some level of disconnect between ideals and practices. This project may aid in…

Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) are electronic devices that use a combination of at least an accelerometer and a gyroscope to measure position and orientation. The objective of this project was to design, construct, model, and control a simple single-axis self-balancing platform for the purpose of testing and comparing methods for modeling sensor…

This project proposes to improve the long-term performance of silver-based surface coatings used for biofouling control on various surfaces. The research includes the generation of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) on stainless-steel, and their subsequent passivation by the formation of desirable forms of silver halides including Ag2S, AgBr and AgI. The Ag/functionalized-Ag structure is proposed to…

The search for more efficient and effective optoelectronics gives hope to find a breakthrough technology that can vastly increase the practicality of green technologies. Through the study of Janus, asymmetric, atomic structures a new novel structure can be found that exhibits favorable properties for optoelectronics and nanoelectronics. Specifically, through the study of rippled, Janus, dichalcogenide…

The aim of this project is to identify literature in which supports the idea that Deuterium Metabolic Imaging (DMI) can be applied to detect normal physiological levels of glucose. There is already research that demonstrates detection of super-physiological levels of glucose in large glioblastoma multiform (GBM) brain tumors. However, we want to determine if glucose…

In the modern era of wireless communication, beam steering is the pillar for efficient communication in 5G applications. Multibit Reflectarray antenna achieves reconfigurability by using RF switches (PIN diodes) and thus modulating the impinging electromagnetic waves to the desired direction of user with higher aperture efficiency. At present two-bit unit cell design is in progress…

Cyanobacteria have the potential to efficiently produce L-serine, an industrially important amino acid, directly from CO2 and sunlight, which is a more sustainable and inexpensive source of energy as compared to current methods. The research aims to engineer a strain of cyanobacteria that increases L-serine production by mutating regulatory mechanisms that natively inhibit its production,…

Esters and their precursors are economically viable hydrocarbons, especially known for their biodegradable properties. With the aim of synthesizing these green chemicals through a greener process we chose a biocatalysis route. Spontaneity of esterification reactions was analysed through a web-based eQuilibrator tool by calculating their Gibbs free energy change. Simultaneous investigation was performed to mine for…

Flux Balance Analysis (FBA) is a computational approach to simulate the flux of metabolic pathways in genome-scale metabolic networks in organisms such as cyanobacteria. COBRA toolbox is used to predict the growth rate and production of lactate in the presence of single or multiple substrates in a cyanobacterium, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Current results show increased lactate…

Common methods of testing mechanical properties of micro-scale systems need a collection of specialized parts that are costly and difficult to set up. A new uniaxial testing apparatus that has been proposed takes advantage of less costly methods such as 3D printing of a tensile fixture and image reference markers for accurate data acquisition. With…

Criminals in underground markets pose a huge threat to society by secretly sharing and/or selling account credentials from platform-to-platform in a short amount of time. With the number of account information being spread in these underground forums growing every year, to bring the percentage increase to a halt, this study will be investigating the pathways…

Drug-eluting particles have been identified as a method of drug delivery capable of delivering steady local treatment over time. To address the need of adhering to strict drug delivery standards, this project will focus on creating a computational Mathcad file capable of identifying a particle batch’s mean and standard deviation that yield drug delivery within…

Atmospheric water extraction technology, utilizing adsorbents to provide fresh water to tackle the crisis of water resource shortage, holds promise but currently suffers from excess required energy. To address power concern, a photo-responsive hybrid gel consisting of a hygroscopic material, a hydrophilic polymer-based hydrogel, and a photosensitive moiety are currently under development. The goal is…

The objective of this research is to perform careful experimental measurements of propagation of perturbed shock waves in metallic samples to estimate dynamic strength. Relationships derived from hydrocode simulations will determine optimum experimental geometries that can be used to carry out experiments in these geometries to validate direct numerical simulations of the tests. The findings…

The motivation behind this project is to investigate how to size an aircraft’s control surface in relation to the center of gravity for aircraft stability. Finding a working balance between these will then lead to finding the best design for a given mission. Multiple aircraft configurations were created in an aerodynamic data program called Vorlax…

Interest in the field of tissue engineering is rapidly increasing due to its role in providing a platform for regenerative medicine and tissue repair solutions. In particular, there is a clinical need to create a solution for healing major bone breaks and defects in patients using tissue engineering methods. Polyurethanes (PUs) that are ether-based have…

The objective of current research is to improve the rapid thermal cycling capabilities and the mechanical ruggedness of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) by investigating reactor geometries and cell supports. For this investigation, thermal management of the selected reactor geometry is optimized through computational fluid dynamics, and the resulting flame-assisted fuel cell (FFC) reactor setup…

The goal of this project is to enable multi-modal communication with human-robot teams. This study will demonstrate a way to incorporate spatial and temporal cues to enhance human-robot communication with virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) support. The process is divided into three steps: setting up the environment so that the TeSIS (temporal spatial…

Energy Expenditure (EE) is the energy organisms utilize to carry out their cognitive and physical actions. A mismatch between EE, energy storage, or energy intake can lead to a variety of diseases, and the purpose of this research is to develop a noninvasive medical device, the SmartPad, to monitor an individual’s EE under free-living conditions….

Analysis of propulsion efficiency and aerodynamic performance is not typically done for small scale aircraft in flight conditions. Determining such performance can influence design changes for the airframe and propulsion systems to deliver the best results for a given aircraft. The performance and efficiency of these systems can be determined by integrating custom and procured…

Hydrocephalus (HCP) is a medical condition where an excess amount of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) accumulates within the ventricles of the brain. As CSF accumulates, it exerts pressure on the brain. The applied pressure arises from excess CSF. Current medical treatments for HCP are invasive, requiring macroscopic shunts. These shunts have high failure rates and must…

Selenium, in form of oxo-anions – Selenate and Selenite, has been identified as a toxic substance present in drinking water. Researchers have found that metal oxides nanoparticles such as Hematite and Alumina are the adsorbent materials that can reduce selenium content by adsorbing Selenate and Selenite. The adsorbance capacity depends on many factors including configurations…

Enzyme-induced carbonate precipitation (EICP) is a soil cementation technique that utilizes free urease enzyme to hydrolyze urea into carbonate ions; in the presence of calcium ions, calcium carbonate is precipitated. Fresh urine has been demonstrated to be a unique source of urea for EICP. However, a major concern is the ammonium ion byproduct. Zeolites were…

PEG-Polyurethane is being used for biomedical applications such as in catheters, heart valves and in tissue regeneration including bone. Improvements in the polymer’s properties are needed to specifically facilitate different types of clinical needs. This research aims to study the structure, function and key properties of Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-polyurethane for biomedical applications due to its…

The surface that cells grow on has a significant impact on their behavior. Studies have proven that cells orient themselves relative to topographical features even down to nanoscales, a phenomenon known as contact guidance. A micro/nanotechnology-based biotool called a monolithic quartz contact guidance chip aims to provide a standardized multiplexed testing platform for contact guidance…

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder characterized by the destruction of pancreatic islet cells which results in patients no longer generating their own insulin. Islet cell transplantation via macroencapsulation is a potential therapy to treat type I diabetes in the absence of chronic systemic immunosuppression. The Weaver lab uses synthetic hydrogels to fabricate macroencapsulation…

The objective of this project is to analyze biochar’s ability to purify water. It is hypothesized that biochar is effective in removing heavy metal contaminants with the addition of iron or other metal to further enable adsorption. It is also possible that raw biochar, after several iterations, may begin to accumulate iron and act similarly….

Understanding the human ankle and neuromuscular disorders like multiple sclerosis and stroke are very important in field of rehabilitation and lower-limb prostheses. This research tracks the replication of a two-axis robotic platform in order to provide future research ventures such as, holistic characterization of simultaneous ankle impedance and simulating mechanical environments for postural stability. The…

Robotic exoskeletons have tremendous potential for implementation in defense, industrial factories, and medical rehabilitation. However, current systems rely primarily on negative damping controllers which although safe, are very slow and unagile. In order to maximize the efficiency of exoskeletons, the damping of the system may change proportional to the acceleration of the user through a…

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a form of non-invasive brain stimulation proven to have various clinical applications. This study examined the effects of (1) the TMS coil orientation during stimulation and (2) stimulation intensity on the magnitude of physiological responses to the stimulation of cortical regions involved in lip movements. The ultimate goal of the…

RO, a commercial process to produce freshwater from seawater produces concentrated brine solutions which cannot be further purified by RO. The aim of this research is to purify RO brine by pervaporation using zwitterionic poly (arylene ether sulfone) membranes. The researcher aims at testing the salt rejection and pervaporation performance of 25% and 50% charge…

Two-dimensional culture and entrapment of cells have been long studied using ECM-induced, cell-signaling induced, and biochemical-induced modes. But the significant efforts in recent years have demonstrated the advantage of three-dimensional cultures to better mimic the in vivo physiology of cellular structures and interactions. This project aims to engineer A375 NRAS-mutant melanoma and human Mesenchymal Stem…

More than 539 million tons of coal are consumed to generate energy each year. Due to the fabrication limitation, there is little research on the relation of combustion efficiency and geometric shape of coal briquette. Nowadays, 3D printing enables the fabrication of objects with complex microstructures. This research uses bioinspired microstructures to design a lightweight,…

This project’s motivation is to determine if the enzyme cyanophycin synthetase (CphA) can be engineered to incorporate non-natural amino-acids in its active site to produce novel variants of cyanophycin, a naturally made biopolymer. E. coli cell cultures expressing the enzyme CphA will be harvested alongside the Wild-Type. Different concentrations of canavanine, a non-natural amino-acid, will…

The purpose of this project is to research the effect of microwave pretreatment on the size, population and distribution of nanosized holes as well as the relationship between pretreatment conditions and electrochemical performance of reduced holey graphene oxide. By studying the cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge/discharge (GCD) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), the nanosized holes…

A solar steam generator is a device that uses solar energy to produce steam in order to desalinate and purify water. More efficient and cheaper materials are needed to absorb sunlight to heat up the water and make steam. The researcher found a new layered material, boron carbide (B4C) can be exfoliated though bath sonication….

With advancing technology, there has been a constant demand for increased cellular data rate and connectivity as number of connected users is expected to be 28.5 billion by 2022. This research focuses on design and implementation of large intelligent surfaces (LIS) using reflectarray antennas that can be implemented for 5G and beyond wireless networks. The…

This study introduces a variable impedance controller for implementation in wearable robots. The controller applies a range of robotic damping and stiffness to the coupled human-robot system based on the “user intent.” A wearable ankle robot was used to test this controller, and human experiments were performed to understand and quantify the effects of the…

The research motivation was to study the effects of heat treatment on the drug loading of poloxamer micelle structures. This project also investigated the stability of the heat-treated micelles in ideal, saline, and in vivo environments. The micelle structures were formed by heating the solutions at temperatures between 35-65℃ and studied using dynamic light scattering…

The properties and characteristics of photocurable nanocomposites can be tailored to mimic those of various tissues and/or cartilage, allowing the bio-inspired synthetic material to replace them. The long-term goal of this project is to 3D print the replacements so they can be tailored to fit individual patients. Therefore, it is critical that the thermal, mechanical,…

This research project is focused on chalcogenide-based materials which function as an electrolytic layer in nanoionic devices. In depositing this electrolytic layer between metal electrodes, the movement of metal cations can be controlled electrically resulting in the growth of a metallic electrodeposit. The purpose of this research is to continue extracting the activation energy of…

Since 1901, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) claims at least 5.5 million individuals each year, making it the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Due to the pandemic, research has been limited to examining papers with methods that use a genome editing tool such as the clustered regularly inter spaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR/cas9)….

The demand for communication networks with high capacity rate will be fulfilled with the recent developments of 5G technology. But then this technology utilizes mmWave systems, which has the following challenges; sensitivity to blockage and the large beam training overhead in large antenna array. This project turns to leverage machine learning to predict the optimal…

Olive oil is a source of vitamins to aid in the proper growth and healthy growth of the human system, however, determining the quality of olive oil with a cheap technique has always proven difficult. Visual inspection of olive oil using the human eyes has been the usual method of inspection. Sometimes people go to…

Can a neural network be used to speed up finite element analysis in certain material simulations? The researchers have built a pipeline to generate thousands of finite element analysis maps and preprocess the data to be used by machine learning algorithms. Multiple architectures have been trained on the data and their effectiveness was measured. Preliminary…

The objective of this study was to design, manufacture and test multi-material 3D printed cellular structures under compression, to evaluate their suitability as energy absorbers. The role of wall thickness and aperiodicity was also evaluated. By combining both stiff and soft materials into one structure, the amount of energy absorbed was increased when compared to…

Chlorination is the most common approach to disinfecting water, however in underserved communities lacking appropriate training and technology, it is often difficult to maintain the optimal concentration of chlorine. To increase the accuracy of chlorine dosing, an automated chlorine dispensing system is being developed using a programmable ball valve. The system is able to use…

Public interest in food quality and production has increased in recent decades. This relates to the development and increased industrialization of the food supplying chain. As a result, there is a demand for high-quality analytical tools to investigate food quality. The research aims at building a portable less-expensive LED-based fluorescence spectrometer for detecting the quality…

This research outlines the benefits, drawbacks, and risks of using different battery terminal connecters in photovoltaic systems; in relation to the Shonto Solar project. Based on initials findings from an FMEA analysis of residential PV systems, it can be concluded that electrical connecters pose the highest risk of failure. Identifying preventative measures against failure modes,…

Chlorination is the most common approach to disinfecting water, however it requires a precise concentration level to work effectively. Determining how much chlorine to add is often difficult for these communities due to limitations in current single use chlorine concentration testing methods. This research project involves the development and testing of a chlorine sensor that…

Vortex stability is a key area of interest. Vortical flows over aircraft wings at high angle of attack can enable the aircraft to perform maneuvers that are impossible otherwise. On the downside, vortices shed by aircrafts, the so-called wingtip vortices, are one of the main factors in limiting airport efficiency and induce contrail cirrus that…

Synth cells are micro-scale robots with limited computation power and memory, but can work together to perform complex tasks. It has been shown that synth cells can converge to a specific target in a cyclic system, by testing different policies and communicating with each other. This work will show how this model resembles that of…

In agriculture, various forms of recycled water are utilized to compensate for the scarcity of freshwater, including wastewater reuse in the form of biosolids. However, biosolids pose risks to human health and the environment due to contaminants such as antibiotic resistant bacteria and their associated genes. This research determines the risk of exposure to antibiotic resistant genes in raw vegetables transferred via…

Off-grid electrification strategies, including mini-grids, are needed to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 of affordable, clean, and modern energy for all. The design of these mini-grids usually takes several months and typically focuses on the sizing of generation assets only. This research is aimed at creating a comprehensive approach to rapidly access and…

Hydrocephalus (HCP) is a chronic, congenital neurological disorder. Faulty arachnoid granulations inhibit the draining of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) across the interior subarachnoid space leading to an accumulation of CSF in the ventricles. Current treatments for HCP involve macroscopic shunts to lower intracranial pressure, but about 50% of these fail within two years of implantation. To…

The EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service) Vietnam Smart Ag team is designing a handheld infrared device to aid small farmers with their irrigation practices in order to reduce water waste and increase annual income. This research serves to provide essential background for the project by investigating the relationship between canopy temperature, CWSI (crop water…

Machine learning is being used to solve many problems, trying to generate multi categorical data is one of the challenges the researchers faced. The researcher team has proposed a new method to solve this specific problem based on a previous structure and tried to examine if the new method is superior by using multiple metrics…

Split-belt distortion is one method of increasing the effectiveness of traditional treadmill rehabilitation, where the patient recovers more quickly through targeted rehabilitation of their paretic leg. Visual distortion has been used in previous studies to greatly impact the effectiveness of gait rehabilitation through visual modulation. Kim et. al. 2012 published a similar study on the…

This research explores the inhomogeneous interphase properties of three-phase polymer matrix composites (PMC) using PeakForce Quantitative Nanomechanical Mapping (PFQNM) technique. An abrupt transition in reduced modulus from 6-10 GPa to 4-7 GPa was identified between agglomerated CNT nanoparticles and surrounding epoxy matrix. These results verify the potential for nanofillers to influence bulk matrix properties and…

The objective of the research is to develop a benchmarking framework with a unified API to allow researchers to quantitatively evaluate new compressive sensing algorithms.To achieve fair and extensive comparisons,all data-driven methods are implemented in PyTorch,and are compared to state-of-the-art model-based methods with a variety of dataset and parameter setups.The CSGAN algorithm was reimplemented in…

It is believed that a relationship exists between the cooling rates of molten glass and properties during high pressure shock. To test the hypothesis, LAMMPS molecular dynamic simulations was carried out on glass. The glass was melted, cooled at different rates, then subjected to shocks of various pressures. From experiment no statistically significant relationship was…

Previous research has shown that student comprehension is affected by organization of information, such as deep reasoning questions used as scaffolds. This study investigates the deep reasoning question effect with digital learning resources. Online participants will complete a pre-test, followed by a chapter of text focused on energy conversion. This will be followed by a…

Nanocomposite (NC) resins have demonstrated its capability to improve properties of parts fabricated by stereolithographic (SLA) additive manufacturing (AM) thus fostering their end use application. Nanodiamond (ND) filled acrylate polymers have observed significant improvement in thermal conduction of the NC. However, studies on SLA AM resins involving ND have been rarely found in literature. The…

Complex synthetic biology methods demand the integration of continuous culture, directed evolution, and positive/negative selection methods. To achieve this in a single platform, the research team built an open source multiplexed bioreactor (eVOLVER) and modified it to function as a directed evolution system. Modifications include a turbidostat, for continuous feed of bacteria into experiments, and…

The goal of this research is to create a database of how a ligament, or a string of fluid, breaks up into droplets from an external flow. To create a model of this breakup, different parameters of the ligament will be changed, simulated, and analyzed. By creating this database, it makes further research feasible because…

Phage assisted continuous evolution (PACE) is the most current and advanced method of protein engineering, allowing for accelerated development and complex functions. The research team sought to explore opportunities for PACE with a new phage, PhiX174 and new mechanisms of positive and negative selection. For positive selection, Gene H was chosen because previous literature shows…

Drug delivery methods can be demanding on the patient and require them to administer drugs on their own. This is demanding and tedious on the individual. Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs) are being experimented with as another alternative to drug delivery. With these COFs, the goal is to create a novel drug delivery mechanism that will…

The research is aimed at exploring diverse applications of fluorescence spectroscopy. Using a portable inexpensive (<$ 20.00) UV/VIS/IR optical spectrometer system designed by the SciHub laboratory, the research focused on the development of a fluorescence instrument that can detect melanoma skin cancer in humans. The ideal test samples are not used due to the difficulty…

Pavements are among the key transportation infrastructures that department of transportation agencies spare a significant part of their budget to build and maintain. There is a need to better understand cracking in asphalt mixes used in majority of pavements. The Generalized Finite Element Method (GFEM), provides a computationally efficient platform for simulation and solution of…

Corrosion is one of the foremost causes of stainless-steel (SS 316L) pipeline failures. Process water containing salts and ions reacts with surfaces causing pitting corrosion leading to frequent failures. Selective Laser Melting (SLM) printed SS 316L could be the potential improvement for quicker turnaround time and corrosion performance. Here, the corrosion performance of SLM printed…

The research focused on designing a variant of a portable device (spectrometer) that can possibly help in identifying the nature of an object/substance. For example, identifying whether someone’s skin is cancerous or whether a household supply has gone bad. It was revealed that photoluminescence, a potential means of anomaly detection, is actually feasible in a…

As the technology available for autonomous vehicles advances, car manufacturers are looking for ways to implement Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) economically. Both in terms of cost and energy used. This is the motivation that leads into investigating embedded systems to create an ADAS using sensor fusion and deep learning. A system using a NVIDIA Jetson…

Aim of this research is to create a model that can take either image, text or both to classify the content of the message into different categories in real time. In the past other researchers tried early, late and common space fusion to solve similar problem. In this research model behaves as, if image input…

The objective of this research is to explore the feasibility of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into waste sorting systems. The functionality, strengths, limitations, and applicability of AI in waste sorting systems was investigated, and a representative of a prominent AI waste sorting company was interviewed. Based on the findings, an optimized 3D model of an…

The objective of this project is to experimentally measure the optical force reflected by a sample using two methods of measurement. One tuning fork-based and one laser-cantilever optical force measurement system were developed in order to quantify the optical force by two means: an oscillating probe from which distinct frequencies can be measured, and a…

The purpose of the research is to model the flowability of bulk-solids/powders, thereby helping in the industrial handling and processing of such substances to be more efficient and sustainable. Flowability of varying grain sizes of glass beads with different moisture percentages were evaluated on the FT4 Powder Rheometer employing the shear cell test. The data…

Atmospheric water extraction utilizing adsorbent to provide fresh water shows promise but currently suffers from energy intensive. To address power concern, a hybrid adsorbent consisting of a hygroscopic material, a hydrogel as reservoir and a photo-responsive agent will be designed. Optimized poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) hydrogel network has demonstrated water uptake of 22 g/g at room temperature and…

Cancer can be treated through immunotherapy, a personalized treatment to train a person’s own body to create an immune response towards cancer cells. The problem arises in understanding when a cancer cell is recognizable to the body as harmful. The researcher created a graph-guided neural network to predict cellular bindings given major histocompatibility complexes of…

Coal is one of the largest sources of energy consumption in the world. However, current manufacturing methods have become increasingly difficult in meeting the requirements of fuel material fabrication in terms of energy efficiency and environmental protection. Additive manufacturing demonstrates advantages in building three-dimensional (3D) objects from scratch. The proposed research is to establish a…

Lithium-ion batteries (LIB) have become an ideal power source for electronic devices due to their high energy density and recharge capability. Conventional fabrication methods of LIBs anodes encounter a bottleneck in controlling geometric morphologies of microstructures, and such limitation causes low energy densities and converting efficiencies. This proposed research is motivated to address the current…

Enzyme-induced carbonate precipitation (EICP) is a soil cementation technique that utilizes free urease enzyme to hydrolyze urea into carbonate ions; in the presence of calcium ions, calcium carbonate is precipitated. Fresh urine has been demonstrated to be a unique source of urea for EICP. However, a major concern is the ammonium ion byproduct. Zeolites were…

The violin vibrato is an artistic modulation of a violin’s pitch that gives the tone of the instrument a desired aesthetic effect. Using computer vision techniques, the purpose of this research is to analyze video and audio of a violin’s hands. The audiovisual data will be fused together to generate a more complete waveform to…

Cyanobacteria are photoautotrophs that are used and studied for the production of sustainable biochemicals but are not typically used for large scale production because of their low growth rate compared to other cells, such as E-coli. Two newly discovered fast-growing strains of cyanobacteria were studied, Synechococcus elongatus UTEX 2973 and Synechococcus sp. PCC 11901, to verify their capability…

Reverse osmosis (RO) is a well-researched technology among the pressure driven processes to produce potable water and RO membranes are susceptible to fouling that hinders the efficiency. Therefore, this work aims to fabricate hydrophilic pretreatment membranes by blending two polymers via dual electrospinning process to prevent the effects of fouling. These membranes were subjected to…

More than 539 million tons of coal are consumed to generate energy each year. Due to the fabrication limitation, there is little research on the relation of combustion efficiency and geometric shape of coal briquette. Nowadays, 3D printing enables the fabrication of objects with complex microstructures. This research is motivated to design the lightweight, high…

The goal of this project is to enable multi-modal communication with human-robot teams. This study will demonstrate a way to incorporate spatial and temporal cues to enhance human-robot communication with virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR)  support. The process is divided into three steps: setting up the environment so that the TeSIS (temporal spatial inverse…

SCARLESS is a rover design that utilizes helically grousered wheels to traverse the unknown terrain of small bodies in the solar system. In one direction of travel, these wheels act as screws and are effective in a powdery regolith environment. In the other direction, they act as normal wheels and are robust to rocky terrains….

Bone scaffolding technology assists in the repair of major segmental bone injuries by mimicking the structure and function of the natural bone extracellular matrix. Potential for design improvement can be made through various polymeric materials to provide more control over its biocompatibility and other mechanical properties. This research aims to study the structure, function and…

Traditional reinforcement learning methods have been challenging to apply to multi-agent settings, thanks to the nonstationarity of the environment, until recently. This project aims to employ such multi-agent RL methods to understand how communication is learned between multiple agents. Specifically, the project aims to investigate what features cause effective communication protocols to be learned by…

A versatile method for assessing cell and tissue viability in different culture systems remains a concern in the large-scale biomanufacturing industry. In this project, the research team utilizes the advantages of nanotechnology to noninvasively monitor the activities of cells and tissues. The team have successfully tested the effectiveness of the nanoprobes in 2D and microcarrier…

Many valuable chemicals utilized in society, such as medicines and cosmetics, have an aromatic structure and traditionally require many unsustainable components in production. Obtaining aromatic carbon instead from biomass would divert waste and pave the way for the sustainable production of many value-added chemicals. One method of utilizing biomass for this purpose is through the…

The purpose of this research is to attempt to design a set of characterization tools to relate granular material physical properties to their performance properties. Different forms of organic materials were ground into a granular form and individually put into a Freeman FT4 Powder Rheometer. This rheometer then measured the physical and performance properties of…

The research motivation was to improve a MATLAB program that provided correlation coefficient and size distribution outputs for a sample run through a DLS (Dynamic Light Scattering) machine. Research methods included writing code to enhance output visualizations, determining factors that decreased the run time while maintaining output accuracy, and finding limitations of the model. It…

As augmented reality mobile applications become more ingrained in everyday life, so do privacy concerns regarding these applications, the objective of the proposed research is the development of a framework that will protect users’ visual data while they are using such applications. The current model separates augmented reality application in the network process and the…

The goal of the project completed by the researcher was to establish a Java program that aids in the efficiency and accuracy of traumatic brain injury (TBI) scan analysis. Current modes of completing analysis were time consuming and imprecise. Precision tools involving individual pixel analysis were implemented to optimize the program for Horseradish Peroxidase staining…

The objective of this research is to design of spinneret (extruder) that can consistently produce small diameter carbon fibers (CF) using the island-in-the-sea configuration.

Constituent(s) found in cement that may impact the production of nitrous oxide. Understanding what these materials are may gain perspective on how to mechanism for avoiding nitrous oxide production.

A novel Microjet and Vibration Assisted (MVA) fluidized bed, that enhances the fluidization quality of nanosized particles by increasing the fluidized bed height, is used to enable improved control of CO2. Testing is performed by examining the use of different operating modes of the MVA system, including superficial gas flow (a)alone, (b) with vibration, (c)…

Assistive exoskeletons are an increasingly valuable rehabilitation tool for patients with neurological damage. However, high level assistive control of exoskeletons remains a challenge. Many different sensors must work in concert to both control the exoskeleton, and determine the intention of the human wearer. This project implements an advanced sensor system and control scheme on a…

Traditionally, farmers would sample their crops by sectioning their land and running sample tests to ensure the productivity of their crops. Not only this method is time-consuming and costly, it also comes with inaccuracies as it would be impossible to cohesively analyze every single plant.

Pretreatment membranes can be utilized to prolong the lifetime of reverse osmosis membranes and to remove biological and inorganic foulants from water feedstocks. A promising strategy to produce pretreatment membranes is through electrospinning, which creates nanoscale, nonwoven fibrous mats of polymeric materials with a very high surface area to volume ratio. The characteristics of the…

The following research project involves preparing a method to measure near field radiative heat transfer between two surfaces, and then extracting real data measurements of such heat transfer. This will be done through a complex system in which the deflection of a sphere tipped bi-material cantilever will be tracked as it transfers heat to a…

The primary objective of this research is to optimize the cell health of cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 mutant lacking photosystem II used in Microbial Electro-photosynthesis (MEPS), where electrons are delivered to photosystem I via an electrode. Currently, high-intensity light exposure is suspected of affecting cell viability, and the utilization of glucose as an organic carbon…

The motivation of this research project is to develop a method to design aperiodic surface-based structures for additive manufacturing. Once the designs are created their behavior will be studied using compression testing. First, a program will be written to enable the 3D geometry files to be tested, then the structures will be 3D printed and…

Deep-brain-stimulation (DBS), which is a clinical intervention for Parkinson’s disease, research was done on development of a system which would use cerebral blood flow rates and their changes to optimize the efficacy of stimulation of the subthalamic nuclei (STN) and symptom treatment. In a rodent model, blood flow changes in both the cortical motor and…

ASU’s Chemical Engineering Car (ChemE Car) Team is competing this semester at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Western Regional Conference. Our aim is to power and stop a small autonomous vehicle using only chemical reactions and supplementary electronics. Our vehicle generates electricity using Peltier modules (thermo-electric semiconductor tiles) between hot and cold reservoirs….

A product design experience for our team, and a STEM challenge designed to sustain curiosity, inspire responsibility for learning, and keep the instructor’s workload in mind. STEM standing for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Project RealWheel leverages high-quality instruction and novel engineering to aid STEM instructors in delivering a powerful learning experience for K-12 students.

Arteriovenous Malformations (AVM) are tangles of blood vessels connecting arteries and veins in the brain, that disrupt blood flow and can cause irreversible brain damage. Treating AVMs is currently flawed, in that embolization occurs while the AVM is being supplied with blood, no effective plug is formed, and embolization is not complete. By designing an…

Combustion in microscales have received extensive interest in the past decade due to up to 100 times higher energy densities of hydrocarbon fuels as compared with those of the conventional batteries. Thus, there has been increasing interest in utilizing the high energy of hydrocarbon fuels in portable power generation systems. One method of generating electricity…

Underwater Robotics at Arizona State is designing and constructing an autonomous robot that can navigate and manipulate objects underwater. Building this robot has allowed team members to create value in the community and themselves by exploring new underwater navigation systems and improving their design skills. The result of building this robot will allow for members…