Undergraduate Summer Research Projects Honored at Annual Symposium

Penn Engineering is home to several summer research programs for undergraduates, three of which come together to honor their participants’ accomplishments working under faculty and graduate student advisors and contributing to their research projects.

The LittleJohn and Rachleff Scholars programs are open to Penn Engineering students in all departments, while SUNFEST, supported by the National Science Foundation’s Research Experience for Undergrads program, attracts students from around the country to work specifically on sensor technologies.

They culminate with a symposium where students share abstracts of their projects, as well as an award ceremony that recognizes the students who gave the best presentations of their work.

This year’s winners and honorable mentions are:

LittleJohn Scholars

Winner
Brianna Karpowicz
Department of Bioengineering
“Decoding of Neural Activity for Use in Design of Central Auditory Implant”
Advisor: Jason Brant, Assistant Professor of Otorhinolaryngology, Penn Medicine

Karpowicz’s project involved developing machine learning tools for a proposed brain-computer interface that can translate sounds directly into neural signals.

Honorable Mentions
Lauren Hoang
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
“Introduction of Ethylene Carbonate to Nearly-Precise Carboxylate Ionomers to Optimize Ion Transport”
Advisor: Karen Winey, TowerBrook Foundation Faculty Fellow and Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Gabrielle Leon
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
“Deformations in Giant Unilamellar Vesicles”
Advisor: Tobias Baumgart, Professor of Chemistry, Penn Arts & Sciences

Rachleff Scholars

Winner
Matthew Yu
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics
“Measures of Seebeck Coefficients for Low Temperature Electrochemical Thermoelectrics”
Advisor: James Pikul, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics

Thermoelectric devices can turn waste heat into voltage; Yu’s project involved studying a class of materials that can do this conversion more efficiently.

Honorable Mentions
Priya Darshini Bhirgoo
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
“Long-range Non-proprioceptive Coupling Synchronizes Caenorhabditis Elegans Locomotor Activity”
Advisor: Christopher Fang-Yen, Wilf Family Term Assistant Professor, Department of Bioengineering

Kemi Oladuja
Department of Bioengineering
“Microfluidic Devices Applied to TBI Diagnosis”
Advisor: David Issadore, Assistant Professor, Department of Bioengineering

SUNFEST

Winner
Delia Appiah Mensah
The University of Texas at Dallas
“Using Cell Phone Cameras, Optofluidics, and Signal Processing to Miniaturize an Ultrasensitive Medical Diagnostic for Tuberculosis”
Advisor: David Issadore, Assistant Professor, Department of Bioengineering

Mensah’s project involved developing a handheld device that would enable the diagnosis of tuberculosis without the expensive laboratory equipment such testing usually requires.

Honorable Mentions
Malakhi Hopkins
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
“Cooperative Robotic Carrying”
Advisor: Monroe Kennedy III, doctoral student, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics

Carly Staebell
University of Rochester
“Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling of Conditions Affecting the Condensation of Water Vapor”
Advisor: Jennifer Lukes, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics