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. Students who earned KEEN Student Mini Grants also participate. In Summer and Fall 2020, 144 students participated.
FURIprojects
FURImentors
MOREprojects
MOREmentors
GCSPprojects
GCSPmentors
KEENprojects
KEENmentors
Research Themes
Students work on projects related to six different themes that represent the Fulton Schools’ core research discipline

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
Sponsored students
Some of our researchers get extra funding through grants, industry and alumni sponsors.
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

Barbara Smith, featured FURI mentor
Dr. Smith has been outstanding this semester by holding weekly lab meetings for both the undergraduate and graduate students. In these lab meetings, I am given feedback on deliverables that I should be working through the next week as well as learn what the graduate students have been working on. She always gets back to my emails within a day and provides me feedback on proposals. Dr. Smith is a fantastic mentor!
Derek Tian Smetanick, Biomedical engineering

Francois Perreault, featured FURI mentor
Dr. Perreault has been exceptional at providing not only the proper feedback but also encourages problem-solving when it comes to problems faced in the lab. I believe working on this research with him has not only brought me more understanding about sustainable water treatments but a more diverse knowledge about sustainable systems in general. Dr. Perreault has helped me grow not only as a researcher but an engineer as well.
Jing Wen Soh, Environmental engineering

Hyunglae Lee, featured MORE mentor
Dr. Lee is by far the most instrumental professor I have met during my time at ASU. He is the reason that I became interested in robotics and decided to pursue a masters in robotics and autonomous systems. I greatly respect Dr. Lee’s work ethic and willingness to help. In addition to his work ethic, Dr. Lee is also very friendly and supportive. All of these positive qualities of Dr. Lee, along with my great experience working in his lab, are why he is an outstanding advisor.
James Arnold, Mechanical engineering

Robert LiKamWa, featured MORE mentor
As unconventional and somewhat stressful as these past few months have been, Dr. LiKamWa has made the effort to be both accessible and as informative as possible to me when I had any questions or concerns regarding my research. Furthermore, I consistently find my meetings with Dr. LiKamWa more informative than the last, as he is sure to give his best thoughts and perspectives on my project along with very constructive comments.
Albert Hu, Mechanical engineering