Forge new ideas
Thank you for joining us at the Spring 2024 Fulton Forge Student Research Expo!
Forge: to form or make, especially by concentrated effort
The Fulton Forge Student Research Expo (formerly the FURI Symposium) is a public showcase of independent research performed by Fulton Schools undergraduate and graduate students.
Students who participate in our three primary research programs are invited to present their findings each semester at the Expo.
Spring 2024 featured projects
Henry Nakaana
Civil engineering
Bio Stimulation of Fungi-Mycelium Create a Natural Geotextile Capable of Mitigating Post-Wildfire Soil Erosion
Bio-stimulating fungi growth in wildfire-affected soils provides a cost-effective and sustainable way to mitigate soil erosion.
Mentor: Emmanuel Salifu
Program: FURI
Rohit Menon
Robotics and autonomous systems
Remote Control of an Off-Road Automated vehicle over a 5G Network for Agriculture Applications
Using a 5G network to create a system to control an off-road vehicle from miles away would help provide the precision as if you were right behind the wheel.
Mentor: Yan Chen
Program: MORE
Jenna Jae Eun Lee
Computer science
SwerveStopper: Kinematic Anomaly Detection Street Camera
Designing a motion-detection camera to specifically capture the swerve motions of vehicles could help increase driver accountability.
Mentor: David Claveau
Program: FURI
Patrick M. Shea Jr.
Electrical engineering
Maximize Solar Power Using Solar Cell Reconfiguration Circuits
Enabling reconfigurable solar arrays may reduce the effects of shading and increase solar output power.
Mentor: Jennifer Kitchen
Program: FURI
Byung Gik Park
Electrical engineering
An Investigation of the Effect of Storage Temperature on Secondary Battery Shelf Life through Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy
Studying the effect on battery capacity depending on its storage temperature will help people manage their batteries effectively.
Mentor: Yoon Hwa
Program: FURI
Aishwarya Katkar
Mechanical engineering
Integrated Machine Learning Approaches for Advanced Analysis of Semiconductor Materials
Studying particle properties data will help us to speed up material analysis research for future electronics.
Mentor: Masoud Yekani Fard
Program: MORE
Emily Mahadevan
Biomedical engineering
Delivery of Alpha Ketoglutarate from Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels for Bone Repair Applications
Studying the release of alpha ketoglutarate microparticles, a metabolite that stimulates bone growth, from a hydrogel will help treat bone loss.
Mentor: Julianne Holloway
Program: FURI
Ritwik Sharma
Aerospace engineering
Design and Construction of a Wayfinding Method for the Completely Hackable Amateur Radio Telescope
Developing a wayfinding method for the Completely Hackable Amateur Radio Telescope which will allow K-12 students to learn about radio astronomy.
Mentor: Daniel C. Jacobs
Program: GCSP research stipend
Clara Chaves Azevedo
Civil engineering
Nontoxic Material Design Using Tin-based Perovskites for Sustainable Energy Production
Studying ink-based perovskite materials with reduced toxicity to explore the opportunity to gather energy from the sun on buildings.
Mentor: Nick Rolston, Nidhin Kurian Kalarickal
Program: FURI
- Bio Stimulation of Fungi-Mycelium Create a Natural Geotextile Capable of Mitigating Post-Wildfire Soil Erosion by Henry Nakaana
- Remote Control of an Off-Road Automated vehicle over a 5G Network for Agriculture Applications by Rohit Menon
- SwerveStopper: Kinematic Anomaly Detection Street Camera by Jenna Jae Eun Lee
- Maximize Solar Power Using Solar Cell Reconfiguration Circuits by Patrick M. Shea Jr.
- An Investigation of the Effect of Storage Temperature on Secondary Battery Shelf Life through Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy by Byung Gik Park
- Integrated Machine Learning Approaches for Advanced Analysis of Semiconductor Materials by Aishwarya Katkar
- Delivery of Alpha Ketoglutarate from Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels for Bone Repair Applications by Emily Mahadevan
- Design and Construction of a Wayfinding Method for the Completely Hackable Amateur Radio Telescope by Ritwik Sharma
- Nontoxic Material Design Using Tin-based Perovskites for Sustainable Energy Production by Clara Chaves Azevedo
Student research programs
A value of the Fulton Schools is to build a foundation for all to be successful. To prepare our students for success in an engineering or technical career, we provide undergraduate and graduate research opportunities. Each semester we invite student researchers participating in the following three programs to present their work at the Fulton Forge Student Research Expo.
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.
Grand Challenges Scholars Program (GCSP) research stipend
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 funded by a GCSP research stipend conduct research in a grand challenges theme and are invited to present their findings at the Fulton Forge Student Research Expo.
Master’s Opportunity for Research in Engineering (MORE)
The Master’s Opportunity for Research in Engineering program is designed to enrich a graduate student’s engineering and technical graduate curriculum with hands-on lab experience and independent and thesis-based research.
Congratulations to this semester’s Outstanding Student Researchers!
Faculty mentors in the FURI, MORE and GCSP research stipend programs nominated their students to be recognized for their efforts in the lab. This semester’s award recipients are:
- Neel Macwan, robotics and autonomous systems, MORE.
- Cristian Zamora, biomedical engineering, FURI.
- Berrak Gokce, mechanical engineering, GCSP research stipend.
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.
TSMC
TSMC is a global leader in the semiconductor foundry business. The company’s industry-leading process technologies and portfolio of design enablement solutions help its customers and partners unleash semiconductor innovation. With its recent expansion into Phoenix, TSMC sees the benefit of a strong partnership with ASU faculty and student researchers. TSMC supports the FURI program by providing additional funding for exceptional research projects related to the semiconductor industry. FURI student researchers who pursue a project related to the Semiconductor Manufacturing research theme are eligible for this sponsorship. TSMC-supported FURI students receive a $2,600 stipend and $400 to use for materials. Exceptional research proposals that align with the research theme of Semiconductor Manufacturing will be considered for this additional funding.
W. L. Gore & Associates
W. L. Gore & Associates is a uniquely creative, product leadership enterprise that has served a variety of global markets for more than 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.
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.
Spring 2024 snapshot
In spring 2024, 121 students participated in individual research projects.
FURIprojects
FURImentors
MOREprojects
MOREmentors
GCSP research stipendprojects
GCSP research stipendmentors
Research themes
Students work on projects related to seven 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.
Semiconductor Manufacturing
Semiconductor devices are part of our everyday lives and the demand for techniques and processes to promote them continues to grow. Fulton Schools researchers are driving innovation forward through advances in areas such as power electronics, wireless and mixed-signal circuit design, memory devices and architectures, solar energy and batteries, advanced packaging and new semiconductor materials. Expansive industry collaborations and unique facilities at ASU center Arizona as a hub for the American semiconductor revolution.Spring 2024 project count by theme
Featured mentors
Fulton Schools faculty members guide students through the research process in their role as FURI and MORE research program mentors.
Andrea Richa, featured FURI mentor
Andréa Richa is an ASU President’s Professor in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence. Her research focuses on distributed and network algorithms and many other facets of computing, including self-organizing particle systems and bio-inspired computing. During her time at ASU, Richa has worked with more than 20 undergraduate students, many of whom have been supported by the Fulton Undergraduate Research Initiative and other research grants. Read more
Wanxin Jin, featured MORE mentor
Wanxin Jin is an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering in the School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy. He has been mentoring graduate students since he started his faculty position in the Fulton Schools in fall 2023 and recently began mentoring students in the Master’s Opportunity for Research in Engineering program. His research interests include robotics, control systems and machine learning with a particular focus on autonomous robots interacting with humans and the environment. Read more