Save the Date
Friday, April 22, 2022, 1–3 p.m.
Sun Devil Recreation Center
Featured projects
Anna Michelle Mangus
Chemical engineering
Cryogenic Electron Tomography and 3D Reconstructions of the Intracellular Extracellular Nanowire Interface of Geobacter Sulfurreducens
Understanding how bacteria convert carbon molecules to electricity will progress bioelectronics and sustainable electricity production.
Mentor: Cesar Torres
Program: MORE
Christabel Wireko Arthur
Materials science and engineering
Synthesis of a Janus Particle with Gold Nanoparticles and Vesicle-like Mesoporous Silica
Exploring the surface characteristics of particles with new materials functionalities will make a great impact in bio-nanotechnology.
Mentor: Sui Yang
Program: MORE
Susanna Rose Westersund
Civil, environmental and sustainable engineering
Treated Waste Plastics: A Solution for Enhancing the Performance of Concrete Construction
Treating polyethylene plastic for concrete construction will help inspire new end-of-life uses for plastic beyond recycling.
Mentor: Christian Hoover
Program: FURI
Jake Henry Trenter
Aerospace engineering
Optimization of Compression Cell Geometry to Maximize Pressure Generation in Elastomers During Total Scattering Experiments via Finite Elements
Optimizing high-pressure cell geometries will allow accurate data to be collected for developing polyurea into an armor coating.
Mentor: Pedro Peralta
Program: FURI
Emmanuella Ayikailey Tagoe
Biomedical engineering
Investigating How Training Improves Dexterous Finger Force Control
Developing rehabilitative training that improves dexterous finger force control may alleviate impaired hand function after a stroke.
Mentor: Marco Santello
Program: MORE
Nitish Jolly
Electrical engineering
Multi-Constraint Optimization and Co-Design of a 2-MHz All-GaN based 1kW 96% Efficient LLC Converter
Designing a highly dense, energy-efficient power converter will help miniaturize data center technology.
Mentor: Ayan Mallik
Program: MORE
Raphael Lorenzo David
Industrial engineering
Optimizing Vendor Mix at the Downtown Phoenix Farmers Market
Using financial models used by stock market managers will help optimize the revenue of a farmers market in Phoenix.
Mentor: Lauren Chenarides
Program: GCSP
Benjamin Joseph L. Herrera
Computer science
VivyNet: A New Approach to Creating AI-Generated Music
Researching different machine learning training methods and techniques will allow non-musicians to compose classical compositions from poems.
Mentor: Yezhou Yang
Program: FURI
Parin Trivedi
Aerospace engineering
CFD Visualization Using Augmented Reality
Developing a pipeline to visualize fluid flow simulations using augmented reality will help students better understand complex phenomena.
Mentor: Mohamed Kasbaoui
Program: FURI
Nathan Fonseca
Engineering (mechanical systems)
3D-Printing Ceramic-Based Solid-State Electrolytes
Tailoring different hierarchies for mechanical dendrite blockage using additive manufacturing will prevent degradation in the solid-state lithium-ion batteries.
Mentor: Kenan Song
Program: FURI
Fulton Undergraduate Research Initiative (FURI)
The Fulton Undergraduate Research Initiative enhances an undergraduate student’s engineering experience and technical education by providing hands-on lab experience, independent and thesis-based research, and travel to national conferences.
Master’s Opportunity for Research in Engineering (MORE)
The Master’s Opportunity for Research in Engineering is designed to enrich a graduate student’s engineering and technical graduate curriculum with hands-on lab experience and independent and thesis-based research.
Grand Challenges Scholars Program (GCSP)
The Fulton Schools Grand Challenges Scholars Program combines innovative curriculum and cutting-edge research experiences into an intellectual fusion that spans academic disciplines and includes entrepreneurial, global and service learning opportunities. Students in GCSP conduct research in a grand challenges theme and are invited to present their research at the FURI Symposium.
Snapshot
Students from three signature programs present at the FURI Symposium: Fulton Undergraduate Research Initiative, Master’s Opportunity for Research in Engineering and Grand Challenges Scholars Program. In Spring 2022, 122 students participated in research projects.
FURIprojects
FURImentors
MOREprojects
MOREmentors
GCSPprojects
GCSPmentors
Research themes
Students work on projects related to six different themes that represent the Fulton Schools’ core research disciplines.
Data
In an increasingly digital world, data collection is growing at a rapid pace. Fulton Schools faculty and student researchers are devising innovative approaches and tools that will help us better process, analyze, use, manage and access data. New computational tools, algorithms and data analysis techniques, including hardware and software approaches, machine learning, data analytics, data-driven decision-making and more will help advance scientific discoveries and collaborations across multiple fields where data use and capture is ubiquitous.
Education
We are engaged in advancing the ways we educate engineering students. The Fulton Schools’ research focuses on learning methods, cognitive theory and best teaching practices, as well as the integration of engineering concepts in K-12 educational programs to engage students early and educate our community about the impact engineering has on everyday life.
Energy
The urgency to discover and deploy new forms of carbon-reducing energy technologies has become an indispensable part of our economic and environmental landscape. The Fulton Schools’ research in renewable and alternative energy sources is multifaceted with efforts in solar and photovoltaic energy, biotechnology, low- and high-power energy storage, power electronics, electric power systems, batteries and hydrogen fuel cells.
Health
The Fulton Schools’ efforts in health innovation range from understanding the causes behind Alzheimer’s disease and improving methods for predicting epileptic seizures to developing advanced biosensors, bioassays and lab-on-a-chip devices for clinical diagnostics. Additional areas of research exist in novel biological materials, neural engineering, biomedical informatics, drug-delivery systems, health care systems analysis and modeling, health monitoring devices and human rehabilitation technologies.
Security
As technology develops at a faster rate, there is a growing need to develop engineering systems to keep people and infrastructure secure, including securing cyberspace, developing secure communications, developing self-healing systems resilient to attack and identifying, monitoring and reducing threats. Fulton Schools researchers — faculty and students — are addressing issues of national defense, homeland security, border security, cyberwarfare and more, devising technology solutions as well as legal, policy and social implications.
Sustainability
The central thrust behind sustainability is the capacity of metropolitan areas to grow and prosper without destroying or depleting natural resources. The Fulton Schools’ research focuses on restoring and improving urban infrastructure, access to clean water and air, advanced construction techniques and management, environmental fluid dynamics, transportation planning, as well as geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering.Project count in the current symposium
Get Social!
Share your research and poster at the FURI Symposium on social media! Use the hashtags #FURIousResearch and #ASUEngineering and tag the Fulton Schools at @asuengineering.
Add FURI stickers for your Instagram stories — search for them using the hashtag #FURIousResearch.
Sponsored students
Some of our researchers get extra funding through grants, industry and alumni sponsors. To learn more about sponsorship, contact the Fulton Schools Development team.
Ahmad Family Fulton Undergraduate Research Initiative Fund
Jalal U. and Syeda F. Ahmad and their children — Jaheen N., Raisa N. and Nafisah N., all of whom attended the Fulton Schools — established a fund to give back and support undergraduate students in their pursuit of knowledge and the advancement of research. Their endowment, which funds a materials science, mechanical, biomedical or electrical engineering student, was created to help more students have the life-changing experience of conducting research through FURI.
W. L. Gore & Associates
W. L. Gore & Associates is a uniquely creative, product leadership enterprise that has served a variety of global markets for 60 years, and provides innovative solutions that its associates stand behind. Gore established funds to support undergraduate students in the Fulton Undergraduate Research Initiative program and graduate students in the Master’s Opportunity for Research in Engineering program, and values student-driven research and developing relationships with students in the programs.
Featured mentors
Fulton Schools faculty members guide students through the research process in their role as FURI and MORE research program mentors.
Thomas Sugar, featured FURI mentor
President’s Professor Tom Sugar enjoys introducing undergraduate students to robotics research as a mentor in the Fulton Undergraduate Research Initiative, known as FURI. Sugar conducts research in wearable robotics, exoskeletons, prosthetics and orthotics, and he is making impacts in the community with his student researchers. He says FURI can lead to exciting opportunities during and after students’ undergraduate studies, and contribute fresh ideas to faculty members’ labs. Read more
Kerry Hamilton, featured MORE mentor
Assistant Professor Kerry Hamilton guides student researchers in the Master’s Opportunity for Research in Engineering, or MORE, and Fulton Undergraduate Research Initiative, or FURI, programs in interdisciplinary research projects at the intersection of environmental engineering and human health. She has been mentoring in some capacity since graduate school, and enjoys seeing students in MORE and FURI achieve success in research and other opportunities. Read more
What FURI and MORE alumni are saying
Research opportunities like FURI and MORE help students build valuable skills, learn about themselves and succeed in their future endeavors. Learn more about what our FURI alumni go on to do after they finish the program.
FURI was a big segment of my resume and supplied me with many skills that were desirable for industry work. By running my own project I was able to learn valuable skills not only in engineering but in project management and organization. My projects provided me with knowledge and experience that I couldn’t solely obtain in the classroom.
MORE gives you the ability to go deep into theory and research good solutions for problems in any sector. It teaches good optimization techniques to fine-tune your solutions and a path for future prospects in the field you worked in.
FURI was undoubtedly one of the best experiences I had as an undergraduate student in the Fulton Schools. Participation in FURI allowed me to deep dive into the fascinating aspects and scope of applications of data science. My experience in FURI fueled my desire to pursue a graduate degree in the field.
Enjoy every single aspect of the process — the good, the bad, the ugly, the many questions, the failures, the misunderstandings and, of course, the successes. It is truly fascinating to experience the creation and discovery process. In addition, take every opportunity to learn from those you are working with, whether it is your faculty advisor, graduate students or fellow undergraduate FURI students.