Edrick Joe | Engineering
Edrick Joe, Bruce M. Belzowski, and Daniel Nemmert
The Powertrain Strategies for the 21st Century (PTS21) project surveys automotive industry experts to predict the powertrains North American cars and light trucks will be using within the next ten years. Consumer demands, government regulations, global events, and much more have affected the vehicles we drive. The 2020 PTS21survey asks powertrain experts in industry, government, academic, NGOs, and consulting companies to give their opinions about what powertrains will be like in 2025 and 2030…
A Look Into the Genetic Profile of Trees Impacted by the Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident
Daniel Clevenger | Biomedical and Life Sciences
Daniel Clevenger and Lynn Carpenter
Nuclear power plant disasters provide unique opportunities to study the impacts of radiation on the environment, particularly to long-lived species. Trees typically live for decades and are potentially sensitive enough to retain a genetic signal of an environmental perturbation while being resilient enough to recover from minor exposures. These genetic signals occur through somatic mutations that happen throughout the tree’s lifetime…
A novel laser emission microscopy for early detection of colon cancer: Analysis of at-risk human colon from an interventional trial (Research in progress)
Karsten Knuver | MCubed Scholars
Karsten Knuver, Yun-Lu Sun, Ingrid Bergin, Mohamed Ali H. Jawad-Makki, Xudong Fan, Muhammad N. Aslam.
A Pedestrian Safety Application of Connected Vehicle Technology
Sion Pizzi | CCSFP
Sion Pizzi, Ethan Zhang, Rajesh Malhan, Neda Masoud
Connected vehicle (CV) technology is being developed under the premise that it will increase safety, enhance mobility, and curb the environmental footprint of the transportation sector. However, for these benefits to be realized in reality, data-driven applications need to be developed. As the world becomes more automated, we need machines to increasingly keep us safe as well. We have several safety precautions for drivers inside a car, such as seatbelts and airbags. This project focuses on safety of pedestrians: the most vulnerable road users. The goal of this study is to predict and prevent scenarios that pose safety risks to pedestrians at intersections…
A Review of the Current Literature Regarding Best Practices for Academic Coaches
Cristian Garcia | CCSFP
Cristian Garcia
While there has been an increase in coaching literature since the 1990s, the study of academic coaching is believed by many to be in its early stages. Understanding the processes within academic coaching is necessary to properly serve students of different backgrounds and abilities. Therefore a review of the literature was undertaken to examine the most frequently mentioned attributes associated with academic coaches’ effectiveness. Articles in the existing literature on academic coaching were collected to examine the relationship between these coaching attributes and student outcomes…
Abandoned Ancient Settlements: Migrations of Eastern Crete
Francesca Tokoph | CCSFP
Francesca Tokoph
This project explores abandonment and migration in Eastern Crete by looking at Archaeological sites from the Late Bronze Age (1500 – 1200 BCE) to the end of the Roman period (600 CE) as well as written sources of more well documented polis. The polis is an ancient Greek city-state that unified different settlements into a shared identity centered on shared land. When a polis was abandoned in most parts of ancient Greece, it rarely was abandoned for long. People who occupied the settlements tend to come back if possible.
Adoption of improved cookstove technologies and energy use patterns of urban households in Lusaka, Zambia
Conner Harwood | UMEI
Conner Harwood and Pamela Jagger
Low- and middle-income households in Lusaka, Zambia rely heavily on charcoal burned in stoves with very low combustion efficiency as their primary source of cooking and heating energy. Reliance on biomass fuels contributes to climate change and deforestation and has negative impacts on human health and well-being. Improved cookstove technologies, offering more efficient cooking (e.g., the EcoZoom rocket stove sold by VITALITE), or motivating a transition to clean cooking (e.g., biomass pellets burned in the Mimi Moto microgasification stove sold by Supamoto), may mitigate the negative consequences of heavy reliance on charcoal…
Alexander J. Davis’s Dualities of Architecture
Francisco Díaz | CCSFP
Francisco Diaz
The research project that I have been working on has been focused on examining the writing of an Early American architect who worked in the mid 1800s. Alexander J. Davis was a revolutionary architect for his time. Unlike many architects of the period, Davis had training as an artist. Many of his peers came from construction or building backgrounds. His work as an artist gave his drawings a unique and imaginative style. Davis was a great innovator, even though many of his works, like his creation of the American Bracketed style, were so imitated that they became staples used in a multitude of domestic buildings…
Algorithm for Analysis of Transmission Electron Microscopy Videos
Jack Liu | UMEI
Jack Liu
Recently, a method was developed to study nanowire growth events through Electrochemical Liquid-Liquid-Solid (ec-LLS) using a liquid Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) holder cell. To understand the ec-LLS process, in-situ movie recordings of nanowire growth by this method have been obtained. Instead of analyzing each frame by hand, which is time-consuming and not efficient, this presentation will describe my work to develop an automated algorithm. Specifically, I developed a program to compute the growth rate and kinks (growth angle) of all visible nanowires grown by ec-LLS in the TEM videos. To obtain these data, the algorithm tracks the position of the liquid metal nanodroplets in solution since the nanodroplets have higher contrast to the background compared to the nanowire body. By considering and removing the overall drift, a trajectory of the nanodroplets can be plotted and used to compute the length and kinks of nanowires. I am developing a GUI interface so that it is accessible to everyone who wants to perform similar analyses without extensive knowledge of coding.
An Analysis of Elective Labor Inductions in Response to the ARRIVE Trial
Charanya Rengarajan | Women and Gender
Charanya Rengarajan, Joanne Motino Bailey
INTRODUCTION: Elective labor induction has been a controversial topic among professionals in the field of women’s health for many years. In particular, the ARRIVE Trial (A Randomized Trial of Induction Versus Expectant Management) published in 2019 has led to a paradigm shift in the way midwives and physicians view elective labor induction and counsel their patients regarding potential options for giving birth. The ARRIVE Trial concluded that inducing nulliparous, low-risk women into labor at 39 weeks gestation reduced their risk of having a cesarean birth.
Analysis of Korean and English Depression Discussions on Instagram
Elina Kang | CHGD
Elina Kang, Ellen Selkie
Introduction: South Korea has one of the highest rates of suicides in the world, with an estimate of 26.9 suicides per 100,000 individuals, and for years, suicide has remained the leading cause of deaths for South Korean adolescents. In contrast, while suicide rates have been increasing over the past decade, the United States has had much lower rates of suicide, with 14.2 suicides per 100,000 individuals. Social media use is ubiquitous among adolescents globally, but not much has been studied to explore the discussions surrounding depression and depression recovery on social media in Korea, and no research has compared depression-related content between Korean and English language social media. The purpose of this study is to examine the nature of depression and depression recovery discussions that occur on Korean Instagram, as well as to compare the attitudes toward depression on Korean and English language Instagram…
Analysis of reservoir characteristics through machine-learning segmentation
Tyler Olson | UMEI
Tyler Olson, Ellen Thompson, Kira Tomenchok, Brian Ellis
The analysis of core-scale rock properties such as porosity, permeability, and pore size distribution are a vital part in determining the effectiveness of geothermal energy systems. If the rocks that make up a geothermal system are found to be highly reactive under fluid transport, the system may experience unwanted problems (e.g., leakage) that reduce the efficiency of the system. These issues may also hold potential to cause harm to the environment…
Anti-Predatory Behavioral Study on the Ninia hudsoni and Imantodes cenchoa
Elana Masboob | CCSFP
Elana Masboob, Talia Y. Moore
How do animals gain anti-predatory traits based on their habitat to ensure survival? How has their ecology shaped their innate response to danger? We compare two species of snake that are relatively similar in size, are in the same family (Colubridae), are both non-venomous, and can be found in different microhabitats within the same Amazonian ecosystem: Ninia hudsoni and Imantodes cenchoa. Given that there are many similarities within both species, observing their behavior works in our favor to have a better understanding of anti-predatory nature…
Assessing Emotion Socialization and Adjustment in Early Childhood: The Emotion Stories Task
Alexis Vatterott | CHGD
Alexis Vattertot, Sujin Lee, Sheryl Olson
Emotion socialization in early childhood has been evidenced by prior research as the foundation for emotional competence, adjustment, and a successful transition to Kindergarten. Research has emphasized the influential role of parents as children’s primary emotion socializers. In spite of this, we need further longitudinal research on long-term consequences of early emotion socialization from a life-span perspective, considering individual differences in emotional development across different life transitions.
Authority Health
Jasmine | DCERP
An organization that strengthens the healthcare safety net through community-based primary care services, issues advocacy, health insurance enrollment and navigation, and a health data portal.
Authority Health
Leslie Igbo | DCERP
An organization that strengthens the healthcare safety net through community-based primary care services, issues advocacy, health insurance enrollment and navigation, and a health data portal.
Behavioral Effects of Network- Targeted Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (HD-tDCS) of the Cortical Visuomotor Grasping Circuit
Jordan Raschi | Biomedical and Life Sciences
Jordan Raschi, Elana Goldenkoff, Katy Michon, Michael Vesia
Voluntary motor control is mediated by functional connectivity in specific cortico-cortical pathways. The cortical prehension network is comprised of strongly interconnected parietal and frontal areas which control skilled hand movements. High-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS), a low cost, well tolerated, new form of non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS), is capable of modulating neuroplasticity within targeted brain networks by manipulating neuronal firing patterns. However, the effects of targeted parieto-motor brain pathways and skilled motor performance have yet to be tested. The proposed study will examine whether network-targeted HD-tDCS can increase functional connectivity among distributed parietal and motor areas involved in action-related processes and concomitantly improve skilled hand movements…
Beyond Medicalization: Unexplored Themes in the Lived Experience of Epilepsy
Melanie Chen | Biomedical and Life Sciences
Melanie Chen, Megh Marathe
Biosensors
Katherine Liddell | CCSFP
Katherine Liddell
Biosensors allowing detecting one or more specific biological components (analytes) has played a crucial role in human healthcare and disease control. Currently, since many diseases are related to molecular or viral or microbial interactions in the human body, most biosensors have been developed to detect an analyte accurately to the atomic/micron /nanoscale. Furthermore, by incorporating nanomaterials related to electronics, optics, and surface chemistry, biosensors allow enhancing the detection performances of speed, sensitivity, and selectivity on such a small scale. Even though various detection mechanisms for many different analytes have been developed, there is no well-organized review and outline guiding a clear understanding of biosensors…
Boston Universal Prekindergarten
Rachel Kushner | CHGD
Rachel Kushner, Paola Guerrero, Christina Weiland
The Boston Public Schools is a national leader in providing high-quality universal prekindergarten (UPK) for four year olds. Like the vast majority of universal pre-K programs in the United States, Boston offers children UPK seats in both public elementary schools and community-based centers. To date, there is little research on how children’s experiences and readiness for kindergarten differ across prekindergarten settings, and little is known about efforts to apply high-quality curricular models across sites. The Boston UPK project hopes to address this by extending the BPS prekindergarten model, which has had consistent success in narrowing kindergarten racial and income achievement gaps, into target community-based sites through funding, close communication with directors, and coaching and professional development supports…
BRAINS
Angelica Mgbeafulu | Engineering
Angelica Mgbeafulu
Bridging Neighborhoods Program
Angel Phillips | DCERP
Administers Home Swap and Environmental Mitigation community benefits programs for homes in the Delray neighborhood and near the expanded I-75 service drive in Southwest Detroit.
Brilliant Detroit
Diana Yassin | DCERP
Creates early child and family centers in neighborhoods. It provides holistic services for kids 0-8 predicated on evidence-based programs around health, family support and education.
CanVaxKB: The first web-based cancer vaccine knowledge base and its data analysis
Chloe Darancou | Biomedical and Life Sciences
Chloe Darancou, Eliyas Asfaw, Asiyah Yu Lin, Siqi Li, Anthony Huffman, Bin Zhao, Farah Reyal, Edison, Zuoshuang Xiang, Yongqun He
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States and has become a global public health problem. Cancer is the abnormal or uncontrolled growth of cells in the body caused by mutations of DNA within cells. In many cases cancer is characterized by the growth of a tumor within the body; however, in cancers such as Leukemias, a tumor is not always present. In recent years, there have been extensive studies experimenting with the concept of cancer vaccines. Cancer vaccines can either be used to prevent or treat cancer through injection of antigens or cancer cells, in order to stimulate an immune response in a patient…
CanVaxKB: Web-based Cancer Vaccine Database Development and Systematic Analysis
ekas | Biomedical and Life Sciences
Eliyas Asfaw, Chloe Darancou, Yongqun Oliver He
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States and has become a global public health problem. Cancer is the abnormal or uncontrolled growth of cells in the body caused by mutations of DNA within cells. In many cases cancer is characterized by the growth of a tumor within the body; however, in cancers such as Leukemias, a tumor is necessarily present.
Carbon dioxide emissions effects of electrolytic hydrogen for large scale flexible energy storage within electric power systems
Isaac Bromley-Dulfano | UMEI
Isaac Bromley-Dulfano, Julian Florez, Michael Craig
This project seeks, first, to identify the potential contribution of wind and solar generators to power systems across the Western United States, and, second, to examine the geo-temporal relationships that drive the relative value of generators in different regions. Capacity values quantify the reliable contribution of a generator toward meeting system demand and improving overall system adequacy. This allows for an informed transition from conventional, fossil-fuel to renewable systems while maintaining reliability. We develop a model for estimating capacity values of variable renewable energy generators as their effective load-carrying capability (ELCC), defined as the additional load that can be met at the same reliability level by added renewable capacity…
Carbon dioxide emissions effects of electrolytic hydrogen for large scale flexible energy storage within electric power systems
Julian Florez | Non-Fellow
Julian Florez, Isaac Bromley-Dulfano, Michael Craig
This project seeks, first, to identify the potential contribution of wind and solar generators to power systems across the Western United States, and, second, to examine the geo-temporal relationships that drive the relative value of generators in different regions. Capacity values quantify the reliable contribution of a generator toward meeting system demand and improving overall system adequacy. This allows for an informed transition from conventional, fossil-fuel to renewable systems while maintaining reliability. We develop a model for estimating capacity values of variable renewable energy generators as their effective load-carrying capability (ELCC), defined as the additional load that can be met at the same reliability level by added renewable capacity…
Carbon dioxide emissions effects of electrolytic hydrogen for large scale flexible energy storage within electric power systems.
Adam Levey | UMEI
Adam Levey
Energy storage will play a pivotal role in decarbonizing the eclectic power sector which is a critical step in the mitigation of global warming and will help reduce the extent of global temperature rise. In an attempt to analyze operational CO2 emissions reductions due to energy storage, we model the effects of renewable hydrogen production by water electrolysis in tandem with traditional Lithium-ion storage as a means of short term energy storage and seasonal load shifting within the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) system. To better understand the effects of short- and long-term storage, we modeled both strong and moderate emissions reductions goals with and without storage technologies through 2050…
Chandler Park Conservancy
Grace Tate | DCERP
Offers educational, recreational and conservation opportunities at Chandler Park a 200-plus acre regional park in the City of Detroit.
Comparing the Public School Calendar and Literacy Rates in Sub-Saharan Africa
Danielle-Andree Atangana | CCSFP
Danielle-Andree Atangana, James Allen, Noelle Seward
Overview: What is the relationship between the number of scheduled school days in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries and student’s learning outcomes? Understanding learning outcomes in SSA is important because more than half of out-of-school primary children globally are in SSA. As of 2014, 1-in-5 primary aged children in SSA were out of school. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the number of scheduled days of school for each SSA countries and learning outcomes…
Compiling a Terrestrial Food Web for the U-M Biological Station
Taylor Brubaker | CCSFP
Taylor R. Brubaker, Kayla R. S. Hale, Fernanda S. Valdovinos
Food webs are ecological networks that describe the trophic interactions among species in a specific habitat. The most abundant, highly resolved, published food webs are of aquatic habitats. However, to date, there have been only poorly resolved terrestrial food webs. Terrestrial food webs have long been deemed too overwhelming or too ambitious due to the sheer size of the number of species found within a specific habitat. Current network analysis of food webs is constrained by the resolution of the food web itself and not by ecological factors. Here, we report a highly resolved terrestrial food web for the U-M Biological Station (BioStation)…
Computational Modeling Electromagnetic Energy Converter for Photovoltaics
Justin Seablom | UMEI
Justin Seablom, Matthew Perez, Mojtaba Akhavan-Tafti, Nilton Renno
The use of photovoltaic cells (PV) to generate solar power large land areas. PV cells are the component of solar panels that collect sunlight and convert it to electrical power. Solar panels must be laid relatively flat and spaced out to prevent the shading of neighboring panels. The goal of Electromagnetic Energy Converter (EMEC) project is to Develop compact panels such that less the power generate per area covered increases compared to commercially available panels, creating an EMEC device with more applications than current commercial panel applications…
Coronavirus Vaccine Data Collection, Annotation, and Ontology Representation Analysis
Lauren Austin | Biomedical and Life Sciences
Lauren Austin, Anthony Huffman, Edison Ong, Yongqun He
The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented public health concern which has made the rapid development of a safe and efficient vaccine essential. SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, is closely related to two other relevant beta-coronaviruses: SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. Vaccines for these pathogens have been investigated in the past, thus providing a foundation for current SARS-CoV-2 vaccine research. We have collected information on 62 total vaccines for SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 using data obtained via literature search through PubMed. Information such as adverse events, immune response, and experimental model were entered into the Vaccine Investigation and Online Information Network (VIOLIN)…
Cultural Cybernetics: Merging Artisanal Tradition with Digital Fabrication in the pandemic world
Ceciel Zhong | Women and Gender
Ceciel Zhong, Ron Eglash
This research examines how to design and improve human-machine collaboration that preserves the creative and hands-on aspects artisans love while enhancing artisanal skill sets, workflow and quality of production with the versatility of the tools that artisans can incorporate. Adinkra symbols are common in Ghanaian art, appearing in various forms of crafts. They are drawn from deep observance and understandings of nature as instruments for connections, and represent different proverbs and aphorisms. However, traditional approaches to produce these crafts are threatened by competition from the speed and mass production from factories that kept value alienated from each other, resulting in the loss of sustainability…
Current Methodological Practices in Human Neuroimaging Studies: A Consideration of Sampling
Alaina Lurie | CHGD
Alaina Lurie, Arianna Gard, Luke Hyde
Technological advances since the turn of the century have given researchers more methods than ever before to understand and investigate the inner workings of our brains. The integration of human neuroimaging into the social sciences is critical to advancing our understanding of human behavior (Falk, et al., 2013). “Population neuroscience” emphasizes the need for combining representative sampling with investigations of underlying neural mechanisms. Since the way we conduct sampling for neuroimaging studies is so critical to the generalizability of the findings, to facilitate this goal and as a part of my summer UROP training in the MiND Lab, I worked on a team to conduct a structured review of neuroimaging studies in 2019. The objective of this review is to identify to what extent published articles in this field report participant demographics, reasons for data loss (e.g., [movement]), recruitment procedures, and specification of the target sample (i.e., what broader population the study tries to generalize to)…
Deadline Detroit
Ruchita Coomar | DCERP
An independent grassroots digital media organization that provides original content and commentary on Detroit-focused news.
Detroit Food Academy
Sasha Fraser | DCERP
A non-profit that inspires young Detroiters through culinary arts and food entrepreneurship to become holistic leaders who are healthy, connected and powerful change agents in their communities.
Detroit Public Schools Community District
Madgean Joassaint | DCERP
Consists of 106 schools educating 50,000 children. It champions a whole-child approach that combimes academics with socio-emotional, extracurricular, and health services tailored to each individual student’s needs.
Developing Despite Distance (3D)
Blaine | DCERP
An organization that helps young men in Detroit positively ‘develop despite the distance’ of their incarcerated parent.
Differential response to simulated predation stimuli by the Drymoluber snake
Katelynn Haygood | CCSFP
Katelynn Haygood, Talia Y. Moore
What kind of predators are most threatening to snakes? Because direct observations of predation on snakes are rare, snake response to various stimuli may reveal the types of predators they find most threatening. The Drymoluber sp. is a colubrid snake and can be found throughout tropical climates such as: Peru, Venezuela, Brazil, and Bolivia. This genus of snake is very active and demonstrates many different kinds of behaviors. They come in a variety of colors, sizes, and weights, which is very useful, because that means more data and variables to study. To understand how Drymoluber snakes respond to different types of predators, we collected snakes caught in their natural habitats, then recorded videos of snakes reacting to various stimuli in a field-based laboratory environment…
Downtown Detroit Partnership
leelled | DCERP
Our mission is to advance Detroit by driving engagement, development and programs that benefit businesses, residents and visitors throughout the Downtown’s urban core.
We strengthen and support Downtown Detroit through strategic initiatives and programs that evolve with the changing needs of the community including maintaining and operateing programs in Detroit’s downtown parks.
Duration of defensive behavioral response in Xenodon snakes
Trevor Rosario | Engineering
Trevor Rosario, Talia Y. Moore
Some prey use anti-predatory signals to deter predators from attacking, but how long must prey maintain anti-predatory signals to survive an encounter with a predator? Direct observation of predation on snakes is rare, so analyzing the duration of snake anti-predator displays allows us to indirectly guess the average predation attempt length that would be experienced in the wild…
Economic Analysis of a Future use of Small Modular Reactors for Industrial Heating and Electricity
James Pelkey | UMEI
James Pelkey, Michael Craig
Making nuclear power an integral part of our energy future is vital in order to achieve lower carbon emissions, as nuclear is already our nation’s greatest source of carbon-free electricity. Approximately 22 percent of global CO₂ emissions are due to heavy industry. Of this percentage, about 40 percent, or 10 percent of total emissions, is caused by combustion used for high-quality heat. This necessitates the decarbonization of heat sources for industrial processes. Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) have grown in importance in order to create the safest, cleanest, and most affordable power sources in the nuclear energy industry…
EcoWorks
Betsaida Valdivia | DCERP
A non-profit that creates just, equitable, and inclusive solutions to climate change and other community sustainability challenges.
Effects of Targeted Genetic Deletions on Long Bone Superstructure
Elijah Paparella | Biomedical and Life Sciences
Elijah Paparella, Connor C. Leek, and Megan Killian, Ph.D.
Bone superstructures are protrusions of various shapes and sizes which act as stable attachment sites for tendons and dissipate localized mechanical loads at the interface between muscle and bone. Recent studies have shown that these superstructures initiate during embryonic development from cellular signaling of a progenitor pool of cells and continue to grow during perinatal development in response to mechanical loading. The purpose of my research is to investigate how two novel genetic modifications in mice influence the size and shape of superstructures on long bones…
Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction to Methane Using Functionalized Hedgehog Particles
Jessica Wolking | UMEI
Joel Graves, Elizabeth Wilson, Nicholas Kotov
Electrochemical CO2 reduction offers a unique and green production scheme for useful C1 and C2 hydrocarbon fuels and species such as methane, methanol, and ethylene.[1][2][3] However, traditional aqueous CO2 electroreduction requires high overpotentials and offers limited Faradaic efficiency due to low solubility of CO2 in water and competition with the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER).[1][3] Supercritical phase CO2 (scCO2) offers an advantage over an aqueous system by greatly increasing the relative concentration of CO2 available for reduction at the electrode. However, scCO2 exhibits poor ionic conductivity, so the introduction of an electrolyte is necessary to facilitate ion transfer.[5] A multifaceted solution to these issues is the use of supercritical phase CO2 in a biphasic emulsion system stabilized by novel Hedgehog particles (HPs)[6]…
Energy Policy in National Party Platforms and Congressional and Presidential Actions
Ori Rattner | UMEI
Ori Rattner
United States national political party platforms have been published for every presidential election cycle since the early to mid 19th century. The format, content, and significance of this platform has changed greatly over the course of the past couple centuries. In more recent presidential election cycles, especially since both parties reformed the principal method of winning delegates at the convention to primaries and open caucuses, the party platform has become more of a symbolic set of positions that tends to reflect the views of the presidential candidate from a given party on issues of concern to voters (Mann, 2000). Due to the current significance that party platforms hold, they are good barometers for how an elected official, especially the president, from a given political party will address those areas if elected. This research analyzes the content of national party platforms with regards to energy policy in order to attempt to assess the degree to which positions in national party platforms have translated into federal energy policy implementation over the last half century…
Evaluating the Passive Radiative Cooling Potential of Various Geographic Regions using Satellite Information
Spencer Cira | UMEI
Spencer Cira, Hannah Kim, and Andrej Lenert
Radiative sky cooling is a well-documented physical phenomenon in which a surface emits infrared radiation to Space, effectively at ~3 K. Applications of this phenomenon for local thermal management, such as passive buildings, occupant thermal comfort and cooling of solar panels, are receiving a growing amount of interest. Beyond these local applications, radiative cooling has the potential to favorably alter the Earth’s energy balance if deployed on a large enough scale (10.1016/j.joule.2019.07.010). However, we currently lack an understanding of the techno-economic and environmental impacts of such a global cooling approach…
Examining Brain-Behavior Connections in African American Women with Hypertension
Sarah Sumbulla | CCSFP
Sarah Sumbulla, Lenette M. Jones, Kayla Anne de Marco
Prolonged hypertension can result in severe health problems such as premature death. African American women make up almost 40% of all hypertension cases in the United States. Our research focuses on participant recruitment through various social media platforms. During the launch of our study, an unforeseen pandemic occurred in conjunction, forcing the shift of our study’s environment from in-person to entirely online. Through Facebook, we have informed, communicated, and engaged with participants by actively posting on three individual pages and by creating and launching Facebook advertisements. Our goal was to obtain 75 participants over the span 3 months, but within 3 weeks, we received almost 200 eligible participants. Using Facebook campaign filters, we were able to specifically target African American women with hypertension.
Examining the 24-hour guidelines in children with and without ASD between the ages of 6-9 years
Lyndsie Clossick | CHGD
Lyndsie Clossick, Kerri Staples, & Dale Ulrich
Physical activity (PA), sleep, and limited sedentary behavior are all known components that promote health for children. While each of these components independently impacts health, they are not mutually exclusive. The 24-hour movement guidelines bring together these components to provide recommendations that encompass the whole day…
FoodLab Detroit, Osborn Neighborhood Alliance
Torisa Johnson | DCERP
A community of food entrepreneurs committed to making the possibility of good food in Detroit a sustainable reality. They design, build and maintain systems to grow a diverse ecosystem of triple-bottom-line food businesses as part of a good food movement that is accountable to all Detroiters.
Friends of Parkside
Rakira Urquhart | DCERP
A community-based organization for residents of Detroit’s East side with youth development, sports, health iniatives and food security programming.
Friends of Parkside
Sharonda Chiangong | DCERP
A community-based organization for residents on Detroit’s East side with programming such as youth development, sports, health initiatives, and food security.
From Sudan to America: Echoes of Revolution
Rasheda Al-Asbahi | CCSFP
Rasheda Najib Al-Asbahi
Good with Words
Rania Baraka | CCSFP
Rania Baraka
Coursera, as you may know, as a free to use website that gives you access to hundreds of different courses for you to use however you like. The purpose of this project was to help make edits on the course sections as well as find valuable information and provide feedback that will be helpful for the Good with Sentences Coursera course…
Good With Words
Grace Murra | CCSFP
Grace Murra
The impact someone can have is astonishing when they express their thoughts, intentions, or wants in a clear and compelling way. Being good with words benefits all who attempt to learn: in school, at work, in relationships, and when trying to connect with others. There are many ways to learn and improve the way you interact with and use words; online resources, tutorials, traditional and nontraditional classes, or simply reading books and articles can help highlight where one might need improvement in their own writing or teach them a new valuable skill. The “Good With Words: Writing and Editing” course provides a look into some of the more common areas where someone might struggle in their writing. Accompanied by both Good With Words: Writing and Editing and The Syntax of Sports, Class 1, this online course provides lessons on word choice, word order, structure, organization, drafting, and revising, alongside weekly grammar and nuance specials to help improve one’s writing even further…
Good with Words
Marc Mowry | CCSFP
Marc Mowry
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, educational institutions all over the world have been forced to adapt, with many switching toward at least some form of online teaching. My project directly responds to that global change.
Under the guidance of Professor Patrick Barry of the Law School, my project members and I have been helping to fine tune a four-part series of online writing courses called “Good with Words.” Hoping to make the series as useful as possible to both undergraduate and graduate students, I have worked on an array of tasks, including helping to shape the weekly “Notes on Nuance” section and compiling a syllabus that students can use to both map their progress through the course and return to as a jumping off point for further study.
Graphical Style Assent Forms for Brain-Computer Interfaces
Brooke LeBlanc | CCSFP
Brooke LeBlanc, Jane E. Huggins
This project translated the text-based assent document for the University of Michigan Direct Brain Interface lab (UMDBI) into a graphical style depiction to improve understanding for younger participants in the brain-computer interface (BCI) research. A BCI research study can be a difficult thing for anybody to understand, regardless of age. Although we attempt to write documents in simple, age-appropriate language, large amounts of text can be difficult to understand and thus can be a barrier to participation. All the written text and talk about risks and benefits from the study can even scare potential participants away…
Health Equity Management Repository
Kennedy Rogers | Biomedical and Life Sciences
Kennedy Rogers; Elisabeth Michel, MPH; Ebbin Dotson, Ph.D., MHSA
HEART: Understanding the Journeys of Caregiving During the COVID-19 Crisis
Elizabeth Mohnke | CCSFP
Elizabeth Mohnke, and Janeann Paratore
As of July 14, 2020, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention claims about 3.5 million people within the United States have been diagnosed with COVID-19. They also estimate about 34,791 of these cases have been hospitalized between March 1, 2020 and July 4, 2020. Additionally,roughly 40% of patients who spend time in the intensive care unit will be readmitted to the hospital within one year of their discharge. The resurgence in COVID-19 cases expected in the fall will coincide with these readmissions overtaxing a health care system that is already overwhelmed. There is a strong connection between hospital readmissions and the social support structure of patients and their caregivers. Therefore, it is important to strengthen the support for caregivers to prevent rehospitalizations.
HEART: Understanding the Journeys of Caregiving During the COVID-19 Crisis
Janeann Paratore | CCSFP
Janeann Paratore and Elizabeth Mohnke
As of July 14, 2020, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention claims about 3.5 million people within the United States have been diagnosed with COVID-19. They also estimate about 34,791 of these cases have been hospitalized between March 1, 2020 and July 4, 2020. Additionally,roughly 40% of patients who spend time in the intensive care unit will be readmitted to the hospital within one year of their discharge. The resurgence in COVID-19 cases expected in the fall will coincide with these readmissions overtaxing a health care system that is already overwhelmed. There is a strong connection between hospital readmissions and the social support structure of patients and their caregivers. Therefore, it is important to strengthen the support for caregivers to prevent rehospitalizations. Our objective is to explore narratives of caregivers and care recipients to identify strengths and weaknesses of their journeys to minimize hospital readmission rates…
Higher Education Networks, Philanthropy, and the Shaping of Student Experience
Justin Connally | CCSFP
Justin Connally
Hope Village Revitilization Center
ysabelb | DCERP
A newly formed community development organization with programs in food security, sustainable housing and arts & culture.
How the Murder of George Floyd Sparked a Conversation to “Defund the Police”
Olivia Grantham | CCSFP
Olivia Grantham, Ataia Templeton, and Michael T. Heaney
Social scientists have long investigated the question of where new policy ideas come from. They have examined a variety of possible origins, including political leaders, policy experts, bureaucrats, mass media, and social movements. The rise of social media has brought about a new dynamic in the emergence of policy ideas. The discussion to “defund the police” provides a recent empirical case. This study examines the factors that contributed to spreading conversations on this topic in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder. We examine tweets, news articles, social movement mobilizations, city council deliberations, and interviews with opinion leaders to identify the causes of this diffusion. We find that, in this case, social media interacted with city council actions to play an especially critical role in sparking this discussion.
Impact of Maternal Mortality on Obstetric Providers at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Ghana
Anna Stabnick | Women and Gender
Anna Stabnick, Michael Yeboah, Johnny Arthur-Komeh, Emma Lawrence
Background: Maternal mortality is decreasing globally, however remains high in developing countries, including Ghana. Existing literature focuses on the epidemiological and clinical aspects of maternal mortality. However, maternal mortality has far-ranging consequences often unexplored, including impacts on doctors and midwives.
Influence of Surface Treatments on the Structure and Properties of GaN Layers
Jiaheng He | UMEI
Jiaheng He, Maggie Chen, Guanjie Cheng, Davide DelGaudio, Fabian Naab, Zishen Wang, Bin Li, Jung Han, and Rachel S. Goldman
Although silicon-based electronics are used to power light-emitting diodes and electric vehicles, their utility in high power applications is limited by low breakdown voltages. The most promising alternatives are vertical GaN devices, but these involve etching and selective-area re-growth, both of which enhance near-surface atomic displacements to the detriment of device performance. In this work, we utilize ion beam analysis and cathodoluminescence spectroscopy to examine the influences of ambient exposure, dry etching, and metal-organic precursor surface treatments on surface/interface defects and their electronic signatures…
Insidious Influence: Lobbyists and Their Allies on Capitol Hill
Jesse Goulding | CCSFP
Jesse Goulding, Richard Hall
The term ‘lobbying’ conjures images of shady backroom deals, illicit financial transactions, and quid pro quo agreements. The actual function of lobbying within the American political system has been vastly misunderstood and under- researched. By examining lobbying not as a quid pro quo agreement but rather as a resource grant that legislators use to gather information, expertise, and craft solutions with their limited time and staff, we can better understand the purpose of lobbying as well as its costs. Utilizing data on over 14,000 legislator- lobbyist pairs, covering 150 interest groups and hundreds of Congress members, this project examines the reasons lobbyists seek access to lawmakers and the reasons legislators grant that access…
Integrated Software Development for the Scale-up of Perovskite Photovoltaics with Spatial Atomic Layer Deposition Processes
Enpei Zhao | UMEI
Enpei Zhao, Daniel Penley, Tae Cho, Neil Dasgupta
Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a useful manufacturing technique that allows one to control surfaces and interfaces by depositing thin films on high-aspect ratio surfaces utilizing self-limiting reactions. The precursors in a traditional ALD process are separated temporally, but can be separated spatially in a process called spatial atomic layer deposition (SALD). SALD can achieve up to two orders of magnitude higher throughout compared to conventional ALD primarily because the process can be performed at atmospheric pressure. Furthermore, it can be integrated with roll-to-roll manufacturing system. This manufacturing advantage results in drastically reduced cost and complexity that could help to address the large-scale manufacturing needs of the perovskite photovoltaic solar cells as well as battery production…
Integrating Negative Emission Technologies to Power Systems
Shagun Parekh | UMEI
Shagun Parekh, Dr. Michael Craig
In order to be in compliance with the Paris Climate Agreement and limit global average temperature rises to below 2°C, it is imperative that we see large-scale deployment of negative emission technologies like direct air capture (DAC). However, little research highlights how the deployment of these NETs would change the behavior of current power systems. Our research project aims to make this connection more clear, and more specifically quantify the importance of power system operational constraints in estimating net carbon dioxide (CO2) removal by DAC…
Investigating Factors Influencing Variability of N2 C. elegans Lifespan
Brandon Vang | CCSFP
Brandon Vang, Yasmeen Berry, Nicholas Urban, Matthias Truttmann
The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a common, inexpensive model organism. Due to its genetic versatility and short lifespan, C. elegans has proven to be a powerful tool for studying the in vivo effects of genetic targets, biological compounds, and environmental factors on aging and longevity. However, it has become apparent that wild type C. elegans (N2) as experimental controls exhibit a surprising variability in the average lifespan of nematodes among different experiments. With the cause of this phenomenon unknown, there is a dire need to understand the underlying mechanisms influencing N2 lifespan variability. We hypothesized that slight alterations in experimental setup and conditions (so-called “soft features”) are the cause of this phenomenon…
Investigating Factors Influencing Variability of N2 C. elegans Lifespan
Yasmeen Berry | CCSFP
Yasmeen Berry, Brandon Vang, Nicholas Urban, Matthias Truttmann
The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a common, inexpensive model organism. Due to its genetic versatility and short lifespan, C. elegans has proven to be a powerful tool for studying the in vivo effects of genetic targets, biological compounds, and environmental factors on aging and longevity. However, it has become apparent that wild type C. elegans (N2) as experimental controls exhibit a surprising variability in the average lifespan of nematodes among different experiments. With the cause of this phenomenon unknown, there is a dire need to understand the underlying mechanisms influencing N2 lifespan variability…
Knowledge and Attitudes of Emergency Physician Medical Directors on the use of Expedited Partner Therapy for Sexually Transmitted Infection Treatment
Pauly Dudas | CCSFP
Paul Dudas and Rafael Cortes
Knowledge and Attitudes of Emergency Physician Medical Directors on the use of Expedited Partner Therapy for Sexually Transmitted Infection Treatment
Rafael Cortes | CCSFP
Rafael Cortes and Paul Dudas
Language and Its Ability to Regulate Emotions Within Moral Contexts
Jacob Foster | CCSFP
Jacob Foster
Dealing with what is and is not moral is often difficult, and that difficulty can be exacerbated when it involves someone close to us. This is especially pertinent in today’s world, where we interact on a global scale. Here, we look to identify how the effect of close others alters our moral actions and how to regulate the emotions surrounding the interactions with those close others by reviewing the current research…
Lineage tracing of Col1a2+ cells in tendon attachments
Aracely Marroquin | CCSFP
Aracely Marroquin, Megan L. Killian
Lineage tracing is a method to study cell populations and their descendants by tracking and identifying certain populations within tissue. Lineage tracing has been used to investigate various biological processes like embryonic development, tissue development, and cell properties. Our laboratory uses lineage tracing to understand what and how specific cell populations, such as Col1a2-lineage cells, establish and remodel tendon and ligament attachments. The purpose of my research is focused on using fluorescent images from the previous lineage tracing experiments to study how Col1a2+ progenitor cells populate and remodel the tendon attachment at sites in the proximal humerus…
Living on L.O.P.: What We Learned in Prison
Adam Kouraimi | CCSFP
Adam Kouraimi
Living on L.O.P.: What We Learned in Prison is a mini documentary video series which focuses on “Loss of Privileges” (L.O.P.)–a disciplinary action that strips people in prison of their extra-curricular privileges–and the lessons they learned within that Isolation. This series interviews formerly incarcerated individuals about those lessons and how they utilize them now in the midst of the current climate of isolation stemming from the Covid-19 epidemic. The goal is to inform those who are currently experiencing the same sense of isolation that is experienced within prison in the hopes of helping them find a way to deal with their own experience of isolation in a positive way.
Log File Analyses of Free Interactive eBooks that Teach Programming
Ashley Anderson | Intel Semiconductor Research Corporation
Ashley Anderson, Barbara Ericson
With the increasing use of electronic textbooks and online courses, there is a wealth of student interaction data that can be analyzed. Interactive ebooks include a variety of practice problems including typical practice types like multiple-choice, fill in the blank, matching, and short answer questions. Ebooks for programming also include the ability to write, modify, and execute code…
Mask Politics: American Newspapers’ communication of facial mask usage during the COVID19 pandemic
Jakin Zhang | Women and Gender
Jakin Zhang, Young Rim Kim
At the year-end of 2019, a novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 emerged. The outbreak of the respiratory disease was traced back to a first case in China, on November 17th. In the following months, the respiratory disease spread across six continents and infected over 12 million individuals. To this day, more than half a million people have died due to COVID-19. In the early months of the outbreak and amidst global confusion, the American public received conflicting signaling from health professionals in regards to masking…
Modeling Generational Wealth in Roman-Egyptian Villages
Sam Campau | CCSFP
Sam Campau
Complex systems are comprised of interrelated parts that evolve over time through non-linear cause and effect. These systems are difficult to model in the traditional equation-based way precisely because of this adaptability and dependency. One method used to overcome this challenge is Agent-Based Modeling (ABM), which uses discrete “agents” with simple rules to govern their behavior and interactions within the simulation…
Molecular Characteristics of HPV-Caused OPSCC Tumors in Taiwanese Women
Sabrina Iqbal | Women and Gender
Sabrina Iqbal, Guadalupe Lorenzatti Hiles, Chun-I Wang, Christine M Goudsmit, Lila Peters, Mohammed Charara, Reem A Khatib, Devraj Som, George M Bloom, Hannah L Briggs, Macy A Afsari, Brianna L Moglianesi, Darcy D Huang, Kai-Ping Chang*, Thomas E Carey*, Heather M Walline*
*co-senior authors
Background: Oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) is commonly caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), a DNA virus transmitted through sexual contact that infects and transforms the cells of the epithelium. Besides HPV, other causes of OPC are heavy alcohol consumption and other risk behaviors such as smoking and betel quid chewing. To date, few studies have addressed the specific molecular characteristics and potential treatments for HPV-induced OPCs in women, especially in Taiwan, where OPC has been long considered a disease affecting solely men. However, we recently showed that both men and women suffer from OPC in Taiwan, but presumably due to different drivers as women are less likely to be drinkers and smokers and have a higher proportion of HPV-driven tumors. In general, HPV-positive tumors are characterized by the expression of wild-type p53 and respond better to therapy. HPV-negative tumors are frequently driven by mutant p53 and are more prone to fail treatment and must be treated more aggressively. The purpose of this project is to understand how OPC manifests itself differently in Taiwanese women and men at the molecular level by analyzing their driving agents, HPV or mutant p53, and their associations with patient outcome.
Molecular features of therapeutic sensitive and resistant pancreatic cancer cells
Daeho Kim | Biomedical and Life Sciences
Daeho Kim, Zeribe C. Nwosu, Marina Pasca di Magliano
Background: Pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer deaths. Gemcitabine is one of the main drugs used for pancreatic cancer therapy, and acts by disrupting DNA replication. However, some pancreatic cancer cell lines develop resistance to gemcitabine making the treatment ineffective. Here we aimed to determine molecular differences between gemcitabine resistant and sensitive cell lines.
Multichannel Carbon Fiber Electrode Arrays for Selective Stimulation and Recording of Sensory-Motor Signals in Peripheral Nerve Interfaces
Jagienka Timek | Biomedical and Life Sciences
Jagienka Timek, Dan C. Ursu, Paras G. Patel, Elissa Welle, Cynthia A. Chestek, Paul S. Cederna, Stephen W.P. Kemp
Advanced motorized prosthetic limbs are capable of fine multiple joint manipulations and possess the potential to emulate the intricate functions of the native extremity. Equipped with force or pressure sensors, these devices are also able to provide sensory information to the user. However, increasing a prosthetic’s manipulative degrees of freedom requires additional controlled inputs from the amputee in the form of electrical signals from severed nerves. The development of a reliable interface between amputee and a prosthetic device is therefore crucial for closing the motor-sensory feedback loop between human and machine. The Regenerative Peripheral Nerve Interface (RPNI) and Composite-RPNI (C-RPNI) are biologic nerve interfaces designed for stable integration of a prosthetic device with transected peripheral nerves in a residual limb…
Nortown Community Development Corporation
Sean Gilikin | DCERP
Focuses on the revitalization of Northeast Detroit by promoting safe and affordable housing, historic preservation, greenway development, environmental improvements, and job opportunities for low/moderare income populations.
Ontology-Based Classification and Analysis of Adverse Events Associated With the Usage of Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine for Treating COVID-19 and Other Diseases
Jamie Ngai | Biomedical and Life Sciences
Jamie Ngai, Yongqun He
BACKGROUND: With the 2019 novel coronavirus, the world has been evaluating many already existing drugs for their efficacy in COVID-19 treatment and prophylaxis. Beginning late March 2020, two antimalarial quinoline drugs, hydroxychloroquine sulfate and chloroquine phosphate, have been approved for use to treat COVID-19 patients within a hospital setting. On June 15, the FDA revoked the emergency use authorization of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine for treatment of COVID-19 patients due to the significant risk of cardiac adverse events/effects (AEs).
pH Analysis of PtxRuy/C Alloys for the Nitrate Reduction Reaction
Evan Ortiz | UMEI
Evan Ortiz, Zixuan Wang, Nirala Singh
Nitrate is a pollutant primarily generated from agriculture and septic waste. High concentrations in water sources can cause algae blooms, and subsequently dead zones. Consumption of water with high levels of nitrate contaminants have been linked to blue baby syndrome and cancer. One method of remediation is to electrochemically reduce nitrate to other benign or commodity products. However, there does not exist an active, stable, selective, and inexpensive material to catalyze such a reaction. Current research has explored alloys as potential electrocatalysts…
Photo-assisted Flow Battery Charging
Wes Fermanich | UMEI
Wes Fermanich, David Kwabi
POMC efferent neuronal projections: Insights into their distribution and complex physiological roles
Preetam Vupputuri | Biomedical and Life Sciences
Preetam Vupputuri, Surbhi Gahlot, Malcolm Low
The hypothalamus has been widely implicated in the regulation of an organism’s basic functions, namely food intake and energy homeostasis. With peripheral signaling being essential for communicating energy states and homeostatic requirements, the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARC) plays an important role in integrating these signals and relaying information to the rest of the central nervous system (CNS). The population of ARC proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons in particular, along with the agouti-related peptide (AgRP) neurons located next to them, have been shown to be critical in this process…
Prospect of a Zero-Energy Skyscraper in Chicago
Brianna Kucharski | UMEI
Brianna Kucharski, Jong-Jin Kim
With increasing concern about the effects of energy inefficiency within the built environment, the architectural field and beyond are challenged to think more critically about the environmental impact of our designs. Within the city of Chicago, large scale buildings (i.e. greater than 50,000 square feet) make up less than 1% of the total number of buildings within the city yet account for about 20% of the total building energy consumption…
ProsperUs
mmaeh | DCERP
A place-based economic development strategy designed to empower and foster entrepreneurial success in low and moderate income, immigrant and minority populations.
Remapping the Abrahamic Vernaculars
Aaron Shields | CCSFP
Aaron Shields and Rebecca Wollenberg
Representing mathematics instruction in the Math Corps: Developing scenarios for studying the role of context in shaping students’ mathematical experiences
Tottionna Bushell | CCSFP
Tottionna Bushell, Amanda Milewski, and Carolyn Hetrick
In this project, we have begun the work of creating scenario-based interview instruments that will be used eventually to study how a long-standing out-of-school program, called the Math Corps, shapes students’ perceptions of mathematics and themselves as mathematics learners. The Math Corps is a 6-week summer intensive program for middle and high school students in Detroit that has not only demonstrated ways that it has improved students’ mathematical fluency but also managed to build a program in which students feel loved, like they belong, and encouraged to find and express their unique place in the community…
Repurposing Drugs to Potentially Find a Treatment for COVID-19 Patients
Jose Ortega Carcano | CCSFP
Jose Ortega Carcano and Yazan Alheresh
As of Monday (13 July 2020), the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) has confirmed over 566,000 deaths from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The confirmed number of cases has surpassed 12 million worldwide and is still increasing (W.H.O., 2020). Covid-19 is transmitted through small respiratory droplets via direct contact from person to person, or indirectly through surfaces that people may come in contact with. Unfortunately, there is no vaccine, treatment, or cure for this infectious disease. As an urgent attempt, we are developing a data driven approach to identify a drug that could be used to treat COVID-19 patients. We used the connectivity map (CMap) database, which is the biggest drugs repurposing database, to find a drug that can reverse the gene expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) COVID-19 receptors•…
Repurposing Drugs to Potentially Find a Treatment for COVID-19 Patients
Yazan Alheresh | CCSFP
Yazan Alheresh and Jose Ortega Carcano
As of Monday (13 July 2020), the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) has confirmed over 566,000 deaths from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The confirmed number of cases has surpassed 12 million worldwide and is still increasing (W.H.O., 2020). Covid-19 is transmitted through small respiratory droplets via direct contact from person to person, or indirectly through surfaces that people may come in contact with. Unfortunately, there is no vaccine, treatment, or cure for this infectious disease. As an urgent attempt, we are developing a data driven approach to identify a drug that could be used to treat COVID-19 patients…
Responsive Curriculum Design: Advanced English Language Offerings for International Undergraduates
Emmanuel Orozco Castellanos | CCSFP
Emmanuel Orozco Castellanos, Pamela S. H. Bogart
In 2019, the Executive Committee of LSA entrusted the ELI with building a new “English for Academic Purposes” (EAP) program. The project is a response to the curricular gap in the undergraduate offerings at the University of Michigan. It incorporates the insights provided by a 2019 fall survey which was administered to U-M students who speak English as an additional language. This program is designed with and for students. As a result, ELI has envisioned a suite of courses. This project contributed to two of them…
Semiconductor Quantum Dots: Dopant versus Free Carrier Profiles
Grace Fedele | UMEI
Grace Fedele, Christian Greenhill, Jenna Walrath, Alex Chang, Davide DelGuadio, Hongling Lu, Eric Zech, Rachel Goldman
Semiconducting quantum dots (QDs) can be used to enhance the performance of a variety of devices encompassing optoelectronic, thermoelectric, and alternative energy technologies. Often, a small amount of another element (a dopant) must be added to the semiconducting QDs to provide extra electrons and improve conductivity. Since each QD is expected to contain fewer than 10 dopant atoms, both the extra electrons and their “parent” dopants have been difficult to locate. In an earlier study, fewer electrons were observed within the interior of the QD than in the surrounding substrate, which could be due to a preference of the dopant to stay outside of the QDs (1)…
Simulating Households in Greco-Roman Egypt: A Case Study of the Antonine Plague
Evan Drow | CCSFP
Evan Drow
Over 1800 years ago, a pandemic known as the Antonine Plague devastated the Roman Empire, heavily disrupting society while taking the lives of an estimated seven to ten million people. A lack of historical documentation has made understanding the impact of this mortality crisis challenging, but recovered Roman-Egyptian census papyri from the same time period offer hope. Census return data has been utilized by Andrew Cabaniss in creating an agent-based model (ABM) in the Python coding language aimed at running simulations of Roman-period Egyptian society to examine household demography. This ABM allows users to easily customize parameters such as initial simulation burn-in period, initial population size, number of households and communities, and scheduling of life events in order to quickly test hypotheses, draw conclusions, and visualize results of experiments…
Simulating the Liquid-Liquid Extraction of Acetic Acid during Wastewater Treatment using Aspen Plus
Joe Shangraw | UMEI
Joe Shangraw, David Speer, Anish Tuteja
Wastewater treatment is a highly energy-intensive process that burdens many municipal governments, both economically and environmentally. Our team at Michigan is part of a larger, Department of Energy sponsored project to find energy efficient methods of converting waste into valuable by-products. One important step in the process is the extraction of carboxylic acids, such as acetic acid, which can be sold and reused as a chemical precursor. Previous research at our lab has prepared a method for a membrane-assisted liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) of acids from the treated waste. The purpose of this remote research was to review literature relating to the LLE of acetic acid and to attempt to model these reactions with different organic solvents using Aspen Plus, a chemical process simulator…
Social Dominance Orientation and Benevolent Sexism
Joyce Ho | Women and Gender
Joyce Ho, Tangier Davis, Isis Settles
Social dominance orientation (SDO) refers to one’s endorsement of relations amongst social groups to be hierarchical in nature, as opposed to egalitarian structure (Pratto et al., 1994). Due to SDO’s central purpose regarding various levels of power and equality amongst groups, it would be helpful to apply the concept to the issue of gender equality, which is the focus of the current study. We administered a survey to 567 undergraduate students from a large, Midwestern institution. Specifically, we were interested in examining how SDO would relate to attitudes of benevolent sexism…
Social Media Comments on Influencer Profiles
Erica Williams | Biomedical and Life Sciences
Erica Williams, Ellen Selkie
Introduction: Social media is used almost globally and use can lead to numerous mental health consequences. Insecurity, depression, and even suicide have all been described in users of social media platforms. Most social media users do not realize the negative effects of using the platforms, only the excitement and attention it brings to their fingertips. Users who have been negatively affected by social media may continue to use it, in particular if they have a large following of other users. The purpose of this study is to describe the scope of influencer content and comments on Instagram. Influencers are the main subjects of this research because they are constantly posting content for their fans/ followers, openly accepting likes and comments from everyone’s point of view…
Software development for displaying and annotating super scale 3D biomedical images
Menelik Weatherspoon | Engineering
Menelik Weatherspoon, Logan Walker, Dawen Cai
In order to allow a brain to function properly, groups of brain cells (neurons) need to form an interconnected network and communicate with each other. While a lot is known about how individual neurons work, it is less clear about the connections between neurons that make them work together. One essential technique to learn about the brain’s connection is to use microscopes to take 3D images of the brain that can later be analyzed…
Soulardarity
Chloe Hale | DCERP
Focuses on energy democracy in Highland Park and surrounding neighborhoods through education, organizing and community-owned clean energy.
Southwest Detroit Community Justice Center
Madison Daminato | DCERP
A non-profit that assists court-involved and at risk residents with a restorative approach, including opportunities for community service and access to social work services.
Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision
Sarah Chung | DCERP
Involves residents, community organizationns, government and other stakeholders to address air quality, blight, safe housing and other priority issues.
Spatial and temporal variation of harmful algal blooms in the Great Lakes
Shaniqwa Martin | CCSFP
Shaniqwa Martin and Subba Rao Chaganti
Sustainable Solar Water Disinfection by Incorporating Photo Active Nanoparticles
Marisa Perez | Engineering
Marisa Perez
2.2 billion people do not have safely managed drinking water services. There are half a million deaths per year related to unsafe water and preventable waterborne diseases.
In this study, we report sustainable solar water treatment approaches by incorporating photo active nanoparticles. One study and five research papers on nanoparticles were analyzed.
System Modeling and Material Data Analysis for Heat-Storing Salt Hydrates
Patrick Girard | UMEI
Patrick Girard, Steven Kiyabu, Donald Siegel
Thermal energy storage (TES) is a potentially advantageous method for storing heat from hours to even months in a “thermal battery”. The methods for TES are sensible, latent and thermochemical. Thermochemical energy storage (TCES) is the most promising due to high energy densities and nearly loss free storage. The main operating principle for TCES technology is a reversible reaction…
Targeting Glutamine Metabolism in Pancreatic Cancer
Ayush Trivedi | Biomedical and Life Sciences
Ayush Trivedi, Peter K. Kim, Costas A. Lyssiotis
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers with no effective therapies, and an overall five-year survival rate of 10%. One major obstacle against effective therapies is the tumor microenvironment, which can make up to 90% of the tumor cellularity. The tumor microenvironment is responsible for the high intratumoral pressure, which collapses the vasculature. This inhibits effective drug delivery and also leads to a nutrient-poor environment. To survive and proliferate in the austere tumor microenvironment, pancreatic cancer cell reprogram their metabolism. Thus, elucidating this metabolic rewiring could reveal metabolic vulnerabilities that may be targeted for therapy…
The connection between second language fluency, linguistic immersion, and the language pledge.
Chris Medina | CCSFP
Chris Medina, Jessica Schrader & Lorenzo García-Amaya
Previous research has shown that not all second language (L2) learners benefit equally from a Study Abroad (SA) experience. Often, prior to participating in Study Abroad programs, L2 learners have very high expectations about the progress that they will be experiencing abroad (Fraser 2002; Freed, 1990; 2000; Hernández, 2010; Martinsen, 2011; Mendelson 2004; Vande Berg et al., 2009, Whitworth, 2006), particularly regarding their L2 fluency. However, these expectations are frequently not met (DeKeyser, 1986; Dewey et al., 2014; Rivers, 1998; Wilkinson, 1998a, 1998b; García-Amaya, 2017). One of the factors that have been recently identified is that in programs that lack an institutional language pledge, learners tend to use their L2 less throughout the progress of the program, while the opposite is true for the language they share as a group (García-Amaya, 2017)…
The connection between second language fluency, linguistic immersion, and the language pledge.
Jessica Schrader | CCSFP
Chris Medina, Jessica Schrader & Lorenzo García-Amaya
Previous research has shown that not all second language (L2) learners benefit equally from a Study Abroad (SA) experience. Often, prior to participating in Study Abroad programs, L2 learners have very high expectations about the progress that they will be experiencing abroad (Fraser 2002; Freed, 1990; 2000; Hernández, 2010; Martinsen, 2011; Mendelson 2004; Vande Berg et al., 2009, Whitworth, 2006), particularly regarding their L2 fluency. However, these expectations are frequently not met (DeKeyser, 1986; Dewey et al., 2014; Rivers, 1998; Wilkinson, 1998a, 1998b; García-Amaya, 2017). One of the factors that have been recently identified is that in programs that lack an institutional language pledge, learners tend to use their L2 less throughout the progress of the program, while the opposite is true for the language they share as a group (García-Amaya, 2017)…
The Dynamics of Grassroots Mobilizations to Defund the Police and End Police Brutality
Ataia Templeton | Women and Gender
Ataia Templeton, Olivia Grantham, and Michael T. Heaney
After two years of high-profile police killings such as Eric Garner (NY, 2014) and Korryn Gaines (MD, 2016), Millions March NYC organized a protest asking for three things: the resignation of the NYPD commissioner and defunding the police to use that money as reparations for survivors of “police terrorism.” Four years later, one day succeeding the death of George Floyd, the demand of defunding the police resurfaced as hundreds of protestors took to social media to express their frustrations. As of July 2020, organized protests, many associated with Black Lives Matter, are demanding local governments to cut the budgets of local police departments and reallocate the money into the predominantly black neighborhoods and communities…
The Energy Efficiency Equity Baseline: Investigating Utilities’ Investments into Low-Income Energy Efficiency Programs
Michael Zimmerman | UMEI
Michael Zimmerman
Across the United States, low-income households pay over three times more of their monthly income for energy and heating than higher income households. To reduce low-income households’ disproportionate energy burden, utilities invest in low-income energy efficiency programs. These programs improve the energy efficiency of qualifying households by upgrading insulation in ceilings and walls, or installing more efficient appliances…
The gendered health impacts of immigration worksite raids in Latinx communities
Eleanor Falahee | Women and Gender
Eleanor Falahee, Katherine Collins, Nicole Novak, William Lopez
Background: Research shows that immigration raids have health implications for detained immigrants, their families and their communities. Previous research has identified the role of gender in immigration enforcement, but there has been little examination of gendered impacts of large-scale immigration raids. We conducted a community-engaged study of six worksite raids to understand the health implications and strategize responses. A prior study analyzed data from the first three worksite raids, while this project focuses on the next two sites.
The Problem We Should All Face: Queer Intersectionality in Carceral Spaces
Chelsey Brutlag | Women and Gender
Chelsey Brutlag, Nora Krinitsky
Queer people are subjected to carceral state surveillance and violence in the free world and in prisons, jails, and detention centers. Queerness must be discussed in conversations surrounding policing, prison reform, and abolishment of these systems. This project aims to describe current and past context as they pertain to queer identities in prison. Using a focussed analysis of three art pieces from the Prison Creative Arts Project by an incarcerated queer man, it examines social and (un)lawful policing, power structures inside prison, and the intersectionality of queer identities. These pieces tell a story about one artist’s personal and artistic development. They also demonstrate how queerness exists in carceral spaces and how the larger systems of power play a part in expression and representation of these intersectional identities.
Theoretical and Computational Methods of the Integral
Meg Wynne | MCubed Scholars
Meg Wynne, Robert Krasny
The Fundamental Theorem of Calculus is one of the crowning achievements in mathematics and other scientific disciplines. The theorem yielded one of the most important ideas of modern math – the evaluation of the integral using antiderivatives. In my summer research I study two sides of the integral – the theoretical component as well as the computational and numerical methods that allow for its implementation into applied mathematics as well as other fields. When studying the theoretical side we can start to find relationships between finite sums and certain functions, which gives us information on the rules surrounding the integration methods of certain functions.
Tobacco use vs Marijuana use Among Youth
Mahamed Dinki | CCSFP
Mahamed Dinki, Sydni C. Warner, Jaime Munoz-Velazquez, David Cordova
Tobacco products and marijuana are two of the most commonly used substances among young people, especially among minority populations (Juergens, 2020). While tobacco use among young adults has been declining since the 1970s, a recent surge in e-cigarette use among high schoolers has caused a slight increase in tobacco product consumption (Center for Disease Control, 2019). Marijuana use however, has been steadily increasing and has been exponentially rising after legalization. The purpose of this study is to determine if marijuana use has become more common among youth than tobacco products (cigarettes, e-cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, etc)…
Too Much to Deal With: A Literature Review on Black Women Faculty’s Coping Methods to Alleviate Stress
Makayla Cager | CCSFP
Makayla Cager
Existing research (e.g. Rauhaus & Carr, 2019) shows that women faculty experience different challenges in their careers than their male colleagues. Based on societal gender roles, women are more likely to work while tending to their families. Balancing these dual roles has benefits and challenges. Moreover, women of color, particularly Black women, encounter bias due to their race and gender. In addition, balancing multiple roles and experiencing racial and gender bias daily can be stressful and Black women must find ways to cope. The purpose of this literature review is to discuss coping methods that Black women faculty use to deal with different stressors…
Trends in Great Lakes water level variability
Jenna Sherwin | Engineering
Jenna Sherwin
The Great Lakes hold almost 20% of the world’s fresh, unfrozen surface water, making them a critical resource for tens of millions of people living in the Great Lakes region by serving as a potable water source, supporting recreation, and facilitating commercial and industrial activities. Water levels on the Great Lakes heavily impact the region’s ecosystem and economy and so understanding and predicting trends in water levels is vitally important. However, unlike other lake systems, the Great Lakes collectively have the largest surface area of fresh, unfrozen surface water in the world, and so are impacted by overlake precipitation and overlake evaporation significantly more than other bodies of surface water. A warming climate makes predicting changes in these drivers, and changes in water levels, both more important and more difficult than ever.
Utilizing Machine Learning for the Identification of Biomarkers and Potential Therapeutics to Mitigate Neuroinflammation following Intracortical Microelectrode Implantation
Jadan Law | Biomedical and Life Sciences
Jadan Law
Words in a bilingual mind
Julio Roque Buenrostro | CCSFP
Julio Roque Buenrostro, Katherine González, Isabel Hernandez, Ioulia Kovelman
Learning to read is an important skill necessary in elementary school. It is key for academic success and for life in general. If learning to read in one language is difficult, imagine learning to read in two…
Words in a Bilingual Mind
Katherine Gonzalez Hauswedell | CCSFP
Katherine Gonzalez Hauswedell, Julio Roque Buenrostro, Isabel Hernandez, Ioulia Kovelman
Learning to read is an important skill necessary in elementary school. It is key for academic success and for life in general. If learning to read in one language is difficult, imagine learning to read in two…
