During campus closures due to COVID-19, Senior Professional Development Advisor Katherine McConnell contacted Director of Active Learning Sharon Anderson, who leads a summer program for undergraduate research, to see if they could work together to provide an opportunity for students seeking to gain research experience. Undergraduate researchers share their experiences as participants in the new ME SPUR Program which enabled them to work with mechanical engineering faculty on research that could be conducted remotely during summer 2020.
The ME SPUR Experience: Hodgkins, Kirk and Pérez research air quality impacts of Stay-at-Home and Safer-at-Home orders
As ME SPUR participants, Kirsty Hodgkins, Evan Kirk and Paula Pérez worked with Professor Jana Milford to understand how reduced traffic, telecommuting and reduced industrial activity during Colorado's Stay-at-Home and Safer-at-Home orders have affected air quality with goals that the project would inform future strategies for improving air quality. Read more
The ME SPUR Experience: Smith models the human abdomen for ultrasound simulation
As an ME SPUR participant, Ryan Smith worked with Assistant Professor Nick Bottenus to use medical image data to develop 3D finite element models of the abdominal wall and perform various compressions to mimic clinical practice. Read more
The ME SPUR Experience: DiTomas explores minimum energy requirements for robotic missions
As an ME SPUR participant, Paul DiTomas worked with Research Professor John Pellegrino to perform analysis for scenarios of the minimum energy requirement for robotic missions that will be used in a review article about portable power devices for next-gen robots. Read more
The ME SPUR Experience: Evans tests a miniature tank-tread robot
As an ME SPUR participant, Sydney Evans worked with Assistant Professor Kaushik Jayaram to develop a novel robot capable of sticking to and navigating virtually any surface, leveraging electrostatic attraction. Read more
The ME SPUR Experience: Gruener researches magnetic field design
As an ME SPUR participant, Jonathon Gruener worked with Associate Professor Svenja Knappe to create a testing environment for highly-sensitive miniature magnetic field sensors with non-invasive brain imaging, space and industrial applications. Read more
The ME SPUR Experience: Beiter researches image-based modeling for cardiovascular systems
As an ME SPUR participant, Andrew Beiter worked with Assistant Professor Debanjan Mukherjee to develop an in-house library of models for arterial hemodynamics in human patients, using CT and MRI scans and microscopy image data. His summer research project was titled, Image-Based Modeling for Cardiovascular Systems. Read more
The ME SPUR Experience: Beattie researches image-based elastography in the deforming cell nucleus
As an ME SPUR participant, Julia Beattie worked with Professor Corey Neu to measure intranuclear mechanics. The goal was to provide a non-invasive framework to investigate the mechanobiological function of subcellular and subnuclear domains limited only by the spatiotemporal resolution of the image acquisition method. Read more
The ME SPUR Experience: Hall develops a GUI application to drive a chemistry automation robot
As an ME SPUR participant, Justin Hall worked with Assistant Professor Carson Bruns to develop a desktop application that will allow scientists to control a robot that automates weighing and dispensing chemicals, running chemical reactions and purification. Read more
The ME SPUR Experience: Doyle and Levy research environmental impacts of consumer product manufacturing
As ME SPUR participants, Christopher Doyle and Anika Levy worked with Scholar in Residence Dan Riffell to compile and organize a standard resource that would allow consumers and designers make informed choices about which products to use or purchase based on energy costs of those products. Read more
The ME SPUR Experience: Bradshaw researches energy transition in homes and indoor air quality
As an ME SPUR participant, Adam Bradshaw worked with Professor Shelly Miller to set up a citizen science research effort to connect with households who have electrified and would be interested in connecting this effort to their overall health, wellbeing and indoor air quality. Read more
The ME SPUR Experience: Zemlicka researches image-based modeling for cardiovascular systems
As an ME SPUR participant, Autumn Zemlicka worked with Assistant Professor Debanjan Mukherjee to develop an in-house library of models for arterial hemodynamics in human patients, using CT and MRI scans and microscopy image data. Read more