De Novo Spotlights
Over the summer, these Engineering undergraduates conducted research as part of the De Novo Fellowship Program. This prestigious fellowship is awarded to outstanding students from underrepresented groups in the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering to work on well-crafted research projects with faculty mentors who are committed to increasing diversity in STEM.
Sihang Li
Graduation Year: 2024
Major: Computer Science and Engineering
Project: Mitigating Biases in Word Embedding based Resume Screening System
Advisor: Haibing Lu
“During the summer I worked with Dr. Haibing Lu to conduct research on the justice issue of the resume screening system. We collected data, identified the demographically rooted biases in the resume screening system, and proposed methods to mitigate the biases to yield a more fair result.”
Courtney Rowe
Graduation Year: 2023
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Project: Effects of Crystal Symmetry on Thermal Conduction: A Two-Dimensional Simulation
Advisor: Robert Marks
"This summer I learned that research, by its nature, does not always go according to plan. When this happens, you have to think creatively and critically in order to explore new directions. I am thankful for my advisor, Dr. Marks, for leading me through this challenging but fulfilling process."
Karl Schumacher
Graduation Year: 2024
Major: Bioengineering
Project: High-Throughput Fluorescence Anisotropy Methods Development for Peptide-Nanoparticle Binding Affinity Assays
Advisor: Korin Wheeler
"Over the course of my summer in Wheeler Lab I came to appreciate how much of a team effort lab work really is and how valuable it is to have lab mates who you can count on to do good science everyday. I also learned the importance of consistently chipping away at the problems at hand, making slow but stable progress toward the research goal and to work back up from setbacks."
Nick Cmager
Graduation Year: 2023
Major: Bioengineering
Project: Integration of capillaric strain sensors towards digital recognition of human movements
Advisor: Emre Araci
“During the summer I was able to do a lot of hands-on work in Dr. Araci's lab. The theoretical work on digital image correlation (optical method of strain measurement) from the previous year was now applied to human testing and performing skin strain measurements. I got to learn a lot of new skills and really enjoyed the work in the team. We just recently submitted a paper on the work we've done to the Sensors & Diagnostics journal, published by the Royal Society of Chemistry.”