College of Engineering

The first group of ten undergraduate researchers have been selected to receive EURP awards. EURP is the Engineering Undergraduate Research Program, which is designed to involve outstanding undergraduate students in research projects. The ten were chosen from an extremely competitive field of applicants.

Recipients are awarded a minimum of $1500. per semester and may continue for three semesters total with proper approval. Eligibility includes admission into a Professional Program of engineering, a 3.4 GPA, and support of a research advisor in the College of Engineering. Ten hours of research work is required weekly. In addition, research results must be presented at a professional venue.    

2010 EURP Award Recipients: 

Abiezer Tejeda

Major: Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Dr. Chris Winstead.
Abiezer is working with Dr. Winstead in the area of synthetic biology, investigating a new soft logic approach for designing biological genetic circuits.
Email: a.tejeda@aggiemail.usu.edu
Research Update: Abiezer attended four professional conferences and presented "Resolving Variable Dependencies in the iSSA-MPDE Algorithm" at the IWBDA 2010 International Workshop on Biodesign Automation, which was part of the Design Automation Conference. He also presented his "Simulating and Characterizing Genetic Circuits" poster at the Council on Undergraduate Research. He co-authored two papers, "The Restorative Feedback method", and "An Adaptive Incremental Stochastic Simulation Algorithm (iSSA) for Behavioral Design Verification in Synthetic Biology". Both papers have been submitted for publication and are waiting for responses from the journals. Abiezer has a paper in progress, "Resolving Conservation Constraints in the iSSA-MPDE Algorithm", which will be included as part of a book chapter that Dr. Chris Winstead is currently working on. His next research step is to implement the enhanced MPDE algorithm in iBioSim, a tool for simulating genetic circuits, which is currently under development by the Myer's group at the University of Utah. Once embeded into iBioSim, he says they will be able to test the method for more complex circuits and verify its accurateness and/or limitations.   

Alex Hatch

Major: Biological Engineering
Advisor: Dr. Charles Miller
Alex is working to identify algal species in the Logan Lagoons for biofuel production.
Email: a.hatch@aggiemail.usu.edu
Research Update: Alex presented a co-authored paper, "Characterizing the Microbial Community of an Algal Growth Pond," at the Institute of Biological Engineers Annual Conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts in March 2010. He also presented at the USU Undergraduate Research Student Showcase in March 2010, and was named the Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher for the College of Engineering for 2010.  

Alyssa Calder

Major: Biological Engineering
Advisor: Dr. David Britt
Alyssa is researching nanoparticles and their affect on the environment.
Email: lyss_50@hotmail.com
Research Update: Alyssa presented a co-authored paper, "Nanoparticles and the Environment: Effects of Ag NPs on a beneficial soil microbe and wheat" at the 24th National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Missoula, Montana in April 2010. She co-authored a paper that is currently under review at the Journal of Environmental Science and Technology and another at the international journal, Environmental Pollution.

Andrew Fassmann 

Major: Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Dr. Heng Ban
Andrew is researching nucleate boiling and its application to heat transfer.
Email: A.Fassmann@aggiemail.usu.edu
Research Update: Andrew presented at the USU Undergraduate Research Student Showcase in March 2010. He is a member of the USU Get Away Special (GAS) Team that was selected by NASA to fly their experiment "Follow-up Nucleate Boiling On-flight Experiment" on the reduced Gravity Education Flight Program (the "Vomit Comet") in June 2010.
 

Dereck Hodson

Major: Civil Engineering
Advisor: Dr. Paul Barr
Dereck is researching live load testing and computer modeling of highway bridges in the SMASH Lab as part of the Long Term Bridge Performance (LTBP) program.
Email: bostonhodson@yahoo.com
Research Update: Dereck presented a co-authored a paper, "Analyses of Live Load Tests Performed on Three Bridges for the LTBP Program" at the 2010 FHWA Bridge Engineering Conference in Orlando, Florida in April 2010.
 

Eduardo Monzon

Major: Computer Engineering and Computer Science
Advisor: Dr. Chris Winstead
Eduardo is designing a genetic circuit to coordinate independent processes for quorum sensing mechanisms in bacteria.
Email: eduardo.monzon@aggiemail.usu.edu
Research Update: Eduardo co-authored a paper, "Resolving Variable Dependencies in the MPDE-SSA Algorithm," at the Second International Workshop on Bio-Design Automation (IWBDA) in Anaheim, California in June 2010.
 

James Wilson  

Major: Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Dr. David Geller
James is developing code that will determine the probability of collisions between spacecraft. After creating the code he creates a visual model to envision the scenario of multiple spacecraft flying at the same time.
Email: Jam.Ra.Wil@aggiemail.usu.edu
Research Update: James is progressing on his research and updates will be forthcoming.   

Johnathan Nielsen

Major: Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Dr. YangQuan Chen
Johnathan's research involves using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV's) to create high resolution wind profiles.
Email: johnathan.nielsen@aggiemail.usu.edu
Research Update:  Johnathan is progressing on his research and updates will be forthcoming.

Jordan Bentley 

Major: Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Dr. Leila Ladani
Jordan will be exploring fracture and crack propagation in the intermetallic compound Cu6 Sa5.
Email: jordan.bentley@aggiemail.usu.edu
Research Update: Jordan co-authored "Microstructure and mechanical strength of snag-based solid liquid inter-diffusion bonds for 3 dimensional integrated circuits," which was published in the international journal, Thin Solid Films in April 2010. He also co-authored a publication that was presented at the ASME Conference in Vancouver, BC, Canada in November 2010, "Crack Initiation and Propagation Analysis of the Intermetallic Compound Cu6Sn5."   

Oscar Marquina 

Major: Environmental Engineering
Advisor: Dr. Bethany Neilson
Oscar is doing a water balance study modeling the exchanges between ground water and surface water to better understand our natural resources.
Email: oscar.a.marquina@aggiemail.usu.edu
Research Update: Oscar is progressing with his research. Check for further updates.

Please visit the EURP webpage for more information about the program. 

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