June 23, 2011 –
Said Shokai watches as SURF-IT fellow Johnathon Do introduces himself and his project to the other students.
Nine hardworking undergraduate students got their first taste of summer this week but they weren’t sunning on the beach or waiting tables. Rather, they were attending an orientation for SURF-IT, a full-time, 10-week undergraduate research program that allows them to conduct hands-on research in CALIT2-affiliated labs under the guidance of faculty mentors and graduate students.
SURF-IT, the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Information Technology, is sponsored by CALIT2 and UCI’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP). This year’s 11 students (two of whom were unable to attend the orientation) join 63 undergraduates from the program’s previous six years who learned firsthand the challenges and rewards of applied research.
The program kicked off its seventh year with a luncheon, a meet-and-greet session, a list of expectations and a tour of the CALIT2 Building.
Said Shokair, UROP director, advised the students to cooperate, communicate, avoid stereotyping and stay attuned to research in their field. “Research is not about sitting in the lab and waiting for your mentor to tell you what to do,” he said.
Other tips: network with graduate students, learn to describe your research to those from other disciplines, don’t submit any research in writing without approval from your mentor, and solve minor problems before they balloon.
Stuart Ross, CALIT2 assistant director of research, echoed Shokair’s recommendation. “If you run into trouble, ask someone. You have two options; you can either ask and seem stupid, or you can stay stupid. So don’t do that; ask a question and find out what’s going on,” he advised.
“We can’t explain every rule about safety, work with human subjects, patents and intellectual property or conflicts of interest, etc.” Ross continued. “We urge you to know the rules, know where to find out about the rules, and be willing to talk about [issues] with your grad student, your professor and each other as professionals.”
Stu Ross leads the new fellows on a tour of the CALIT2 Building.
This year’s SURF-IT Fellows, their faculty mentors and projects:
• Sara Bangloria, a business administration and political science major, is working with information systems professor Vijay Gurbaxani from the Paul Merage School of Business on “Social Media and Innovation.” The project explores the impact of social media technologies on innovation and management practices in business.
• Premed biomedical engineering student Johnathan Doteams with engineering professor Rui de Figueiredo on “Simulations of an Extrinsic Stochastic Model of the Development of the Neuron/Synapse Structure in the Human Cerebral Cortex.” Do will develop a computer simulation testbed to analyze a bio-system model of the development of the neuron/synapse structure in the part of the brain that plays a key role in memory, attention, perceptual awareness, thought, language, and consciousness.
• Kier Groulx, a computer science major, will explore “A Web Application for Science: An NMR Pulse Sequence Database” with chemistry professors Athan Shaka and Evgeny Fadeev. The project involves building a “Web 2.0” software application that will allow scientists to store, identify, document, configure and retrieve nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) pulse sequences used to characterize chemical samples.
• Luke Heidbrink, an electrical engineering student visiting for the summer from UC Santa Barbara, is working with electrical engineering and computer sciences professor Mark Bachman. The two will continue development on an “Android-Based System for Home-Health Monitoring.”
• David Ho, computer science and engineering major, is collaborating with EECS professor Hamid Jafarkhani on “Study and Implementation of Flexible Physical Layer Algorithms for a Software-Defined Radio Platform.” In most radios, the antenna, mixer, modulator and amplifier are built into the device’s hardware but a software-defined radio platform is easy to modify by rewriting the software. This project seeks to extend the flexible, physical layer algorithmic architecture so that it is more robust and efficient.
• Information and computer science major Oliver Holmes works with informatics professor Bill Tomlinson. Their project is called “Understanding Player Dynamics in Avoidance and Thwarting Games for Use in Promoting Behavior Reduction.” The team studies the development of games that can encourage behavior reduction—particularly those that use ubiquitous technology to integrate the virtual world with the real world and can directly influence player actions and behaviors.
• Chemical engineering student Andrew Karman and engineering professor Marc Madou are investigating “Sugar-Powered Fuel Cells.” The goal is the design and fabrication of a miniaturized high efficiency biofuel cell that will take advantage of naturally generated biochemical compounds in the body like glucose (a form of sugar) and draw power in a natural, continuous manner.
• Huy Nghiem, a public health sciences and math major, is conducting “Multimedia Production Research” with ecology and evolutionary biology professor Brad Hughes. The project explores an array of multimedia production tools – Adobe Flash, HTML5, Adobe ColdFusion, CSS, JavaScript, AJAX, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator for example – to determine which are the most effective. Ngheim also will develop video editing skills, and multi-camera and audio synchronization technologies to optimize interdisciplinary, scientific, video-based multimedia production workflows.
• Kiruthika Paulvannan, who majors in biological sciences, is teaming with education professor Liane Brouillette on “Educational Interactive Media Development in Science.” She will design interactive learning games that use multimedia to support English language learners in the acquisition of science terminology and literacy.
• Recent graduate Jeffrey Tse, who majored in biomedical engineering, is working with informatics professor Gloria Markon “Integration of Medical Sensors with Smart Phones for Telemedicine Applications in Developing Regions.” The project focuses on creating a methodology, and software and hardware tools to successfully integrate iPhones with medical sensors for use in underserved communities.
• Anthropology and informatics major Rachel Ulgado and informatics professor Gillian Hayes are investigating “Design of Learning Environments,” an ongoing study of the socio-technical blueprint of these environments. They seek to discover how teachers influence the design of classrooms and manage technologies as part of a larger set of tools and materials.
The program concludes August 26 with a final symposium at which students will present their research results.
— Anna Lynn Spitzer
