July 14, 2020
Amid concerns and challenges faced by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, 18 SURF-IoT fellows along with faculty mentors and graduate advisors gathered remotely via Zoom to introduce themselves and learn more about the current research projects at the program’s orientation meeting held Monday.
For 16 consecutive years, SURF-IoT (Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Internet of Things) has selected exceptional undergraduates to participate in a 10-week summer research program, designed to immerse students in research and applications related to the Internet of Things (IoT). Despite the stay-at-home circumstances, the applicant pool was highly competitive with 75 students seeking participation.
The program, co-sponsored by UCI’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) and CALIT2, provides students with a unique experience. Each student has the guidance of a UCI faculty mentor, along with the opportunity to gain experience via advanced training and techniques.
Fellows and mentors were welcomed to their first meeting by Said Shokair, UROP director and G.P. Li, CALIT2 Irvine director.
Shokair, advised students to stay enthusiastic and dedicated. “You’re managing your own conduct and behavior. Effectiveness of our work is not measured by hours, but rather by how you’re engaged in the activity and what type of commitment and values you’re implementing,” he reminded the fellows.
Li urged the group to “work as a team to share cultures and understanding. Use technology to solve issues in front of us. The goal is to benefit people and society.”
Several SURF-IoT mentors were on hand to provide synopsis of the multidisciplinary research projects advancing in their labs this summer, including Nikil Dutt, Department of Computer Science; Fan-Gang Zeng, UCI School of Medicine; Michelle Khine, Biomedical Engineering; Elizabeth Peña, School of Education and Kai Zheng, Informatics.
In response to the coronavirus crisis, a number of current SURF-IoT research projects focus on responding to the emergency. Projects ranging from saliva-testing to social distancing apps to continuous physiological monitoring for COVID-19 join a substantial list of resourceful projects.
Fellows will also attend a series of seminars to help enhance knowledge and dialogue about telecommunications and information technology systems and applications. At the conclusion of the program students will present their research findings at a virtual SURF-IoT symposium.
The 2020 SURF-IoT fellows, projects and mentors include:
Marawin Chheang
Major: Software Engineering
Project: Understanding User Perceptions of Algorithms Prediction in Personal Health
Mentors: Yunan Chen, Daniel Epstein
Aviv Benchorin
Major: Computer Science
Project: Live Update Service for ZotCare Multi-Level IoT-Based Health Monitoring System
Mentor: Nikil Dutt
John Le
Major: Computer Science
Project: Mobile and Webapp for ZotCare Multi-Level IoT-Based Health Monitoring System
Mentor: Nikil Dutt
Jonathan Sugijoto
Major: Computer Engineering
Project: Smart Watches/Rings as a Predictive/Preventative for Sleep Promotion in Pregnant Women
Mentor: Nikil Dutt
Judit Castellanos
Major: Public Health Science
Project: Pain Buddy – Treating Pain in Children with Cancer
Mentor: Michelle Fortier
Ananth Krishnan
Major: Computer Science
Project: Rapid Response Design & Making at the Speculative Prototyping Lab
Mentor: Jesse Jackson
Yilei Wu
Major: Computer Science
Project: Applications of Deep Learning in 3D Cardiac MRI Segmentation
Mentor: Hamid Jafarkhani
Angelou Lao
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Project: Continuous Physiological Monitoring for COVID-19
Mentor: Michelle Khine
Darwin Salgado
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Project: Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Virus in Salivahas
Mentor: Michelle Khine
Melinda Li
Major: Computer Science
Project: IoT Application to Monitor COVID-19 Social Distancing on Campus
Mentor: Sharad Mehrotra
Miriam Munoz
Major: Educational Sciences
Project: Evaluating the Feasibility of Conducting Language and Cognitive Assessments for Bilingual Children using Telepractice: A Validity Study
Mentor: Elizabeth Pena
Yuchong Chen
Major: Mathematics
Project: WIoT Data Analysis for Dementia Family Caregiver Home Visit Intervention Study
Mentor: Amir Rahmani
Regine DeGuman
Major: Social Ecology
Project: Exploring Multimodal Voice Interface Design in Alexa Games for Children
Mentor: Katie Salen Tekinbas
Vikram Miryala
Major: Computer Science
Project: A Privacy Policy Engine for the Internet of Things
Mentor: Nalini Venkatasubramanian
Jiaxin Luo
Major: Bioengineering
Project: Translating Audiological Tests from Labs to Homes
Mentor: Fan-Gang Zeng
Shuyang Zhang
Major: Bioengineering:Biosystems
Project: Translating Audiological Tests from Labs to Homes
Mentor: Fan-Gang Zeng
Xinghua Zhou
Major: Computer Engineering
Project: Translating Audiological Tests from Labs to Homes
Mentor: Fan-Gang Zeng
Jiawen Zhang
Major: Data Science
Project: Understanding Patient Questions about their Medical Data and How such Questions are Answered through the Collective Wisdom in Online Patient Communities
Mentor: Kai Zheng
– Sharon Henry
