Make something amazing.
The Fulton Undergraduate Research Initiative (FURI) is designed to enhance engineering and technical undergraduate curriculum by providing hands-on lab experience and thesis-based research.
Message from the directors
Access to research activities from students’ first semester is a core value of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. Together with highly regarded faculty, first-year students through doctoral candidates collaborate on use-inspired research.
Students conducting research through the Fulton Undergraduate Research Initiative spend a semester conceptualizing an idea, developing a plan and investigating their research question. Through this work, they are developing innovative solutions to real-world challenges in data, education, energy, health, security and sustainability.
The program provides opportunities often only available to graduate students, including traveling to prestigious conferences and publishing their work in research journals.
Some of our researchers get extra funding through industry and alumni sponsors.
FURI advances students’ skills in innovation, independent thinking and problem-solving that will support their future pursuits and careers. High-level research also opens doors to additional opportunities for scholarships, internships and graduate research.
Many FURI students have gone on to apply their unique experience to work in industry, as well as graduate studies in engineering, medicine, law and other disciplines.
We are proud of what our students have accomplished and we’re excited to share their work with you.
Made possible by our biggest fan.
In 2003, Ira A. Fulton, founder and CEO of Arizona-based Fulton Homes, established an endowment of $50 million in support of ASU’s College of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
His investment served as a catalyst, enabling the development of a dynamic portfolio of strategic initiatives that benefit our students and faculty and the communities where they live and work.
Launched in 2005, FURI is one of the most visible and vibrant ways Mr. Fulton’s investment is expanding opportunities for Fulton Schools students. Throughout the years, he has remained an active supporter and regular presence of the program and the school that bears his name.
Where are they now?
Life AfterFURI
Each semester we invite FURI alumni to share where they are now as they embark on their careers or the pursuit of advanced degrees. They also look back on how FURI helped them build valuable skills, learn about themselves and succeed in their current endeavors. In Spring and Fall 2022, 111 FURI alumni responded to our survey.
of FURI alumni
in Arizona
of FURI alumni
in the US
of FURI alumni
around the world
…working exciting careers
Mertay Dayanc is a software engineer at Google. His advice to students: “Always stay curious and take advantage of the FURI program to widen your vision with ASU faculty and many other resources.”
Nurulhaq Hasan is a control systems lead at Amazon in Glendale, Arizona.
Daniel Kosednar is a conceptual design engineer at Lockheed Martin Advanced Development Programs.
Mark Levin is a process support engineer at Applied Materials, Inc. His advice to students: “Doing research is valuable, but don’t forget the people skills. Knowing how to present and be personable is equally as valuable!”
Alex Maltagliati is an equipment engineer at NXP Semiconductors.
Bennett Mandal is a water treatment engineer at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Limited.
Heidi Pankretz is a hardware engineer at Dexcom working on equipment that produces medical devices.
Paul Parker is a modeling and simulation engineer at Blue Origin.
Abigail Pezelj is a manufacturing process engineer at Bugatti Rimac Automobili and Rimac Technology in Croatia.
Andrew Swedler is an environmental engineer at ExxonMobil.
Shubham Turakhia is a machine learning engineer at Drover AI in Los Angeles.
…pursuing advanced degrees and working in academia
Diego Barra Avila is pursuing a doctorate in biomedical engineering at Washington University in St. Louis.
Claire Block is pursuing a doctorate in materials science at Colorado School of Mines. Her advice to students: “Ask as many questions about careers in research as you can! It’s often easier to ask scientific questions. Don’t forget to ask about topics outside of the lab.”
Zachery Camacho is pursuing a master’s degree in medical studies at Yale University School of Medicine.
Maren Eltze is pursuing her doctorate in biomedical engineering at Boston University.
Angelica Guzman is pursuing her doctorate in optics at the University of Rochester.
Rebecca Martin is pursuing a doctorate in robotics at Carnegie Mellon University.
Amberly Ricks is pursuing a doctorate in electrical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin.
Fangchi Shao is pursuing his doctorate in biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Marcela Strane is pursuing her doctorate in environmental engineering at the University of Houston.
Isaiah Wall is pursuing a doctorate in aerospace engineering at ASU and interning at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
…starting their own companies
Joshua Pardhe is pursuing a Master of Finance degree at ASU and interned at Goldman Sachs and Ernst and Young. He is also cofounder of Codonify LLC. The biotechnology research company uses artificial intelligence to sequence genes for more than 10,000 organisms for optimization.
“Aim for the highest goal you can professionally, academically, and personally; the worst response you’ll ever get is ‘no’, but it just takes one ‘yes’ or ‘maybe’ to change the trajectory of your life.”
Cody Van Cleve (FURI ’16) is cofounder of HALEE Solar where he designs building-integrated photovoltaic solutions.
He says the opportunity to work on self-directed projects and research with limited time and budget was excellent practice for designing and bringing a new product to market. Van Cleve also says seeking out the correct mentor is a skill critical to professional success, and “FURI was good practice for tracking and engaging experts.”
He advises students to “spend time understanding your ultimate project goals … developing a prototype without first informing the design through research and prior work is a recipe for failures that could have been avoided.”