Embedded Files
Nilda Alvañez Ruiz
Nilda Alvanez Ruiz is a sophomore at the College of Southern Nevada. Her love for nature and passion for engineering are the backbone for her future pursuit of an integrated Mechanical-Biomedical Engineering B.S-M.S program. A curious being and a believer of balance between body, mind, and spirit she spends her off-time indulging in music, the visual arts, running, playing soccer and hiking among others.
Project: Utilization of a dielectric elastomer in a rolling polyhedron
Mentors: Rob Wood, Yigit Mengüç, Sam Felton
Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-1005022
Jonathan Asfaha
Jonathan Asfaha is originally from San Diego and currently attends UC Berkeley. He will be entering his 4th year studying molecular and cellular biology with an emphasis in biochemistry. As of now, his interests lie in the physical side of biology and chemistry. He will be working in Dr. Wesley Wong’s lab this summer. When he’s not studying, you can find him running or drooling over the latest supercar.
Project: Development of a single-molecule detector For caspase-3
Mentors: Wesley Wong, Ken Halvorsen
Funding: MARC Scholars Program at UC Berkeley
Michael Bechard
Michael Bechard is an electrical engineering and math double-major with a computer science minor. Michael will be entering his junior year in the fall at Eastern Nazarene College. His interests include biking, playing with Android, and learning about new and future technologies, especially those that involve autonomous devices or renewable energy.
Project: Impact of mobility on connectivity in micro aerial vehicles
Mentors: Rob Wood, Karthik Dantu, Bryan Kate
Funding: NSF Collaborative Research: RoboBees: A Convergence of Body, Brain and Colony | NSF IIS-0926148
Camila Betterelli Giuliano
Camila Betterelli Giuliano was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil. During this year, she is studying at Boston University in an exchange program funded by her government, called Science without Borders. After concluding this program, she’ll go back to her home university, Unesp, to finish her degree in biotechnological engineering.
Project: Analyzing Genlisea's protozoa-trapping mechanism through PIV and fluorescence
Mentors: Laurence Wilson
Funding: The Rowland Institute at Harvard
Kiara Blue
Kiara Blue is a rising sophomore majoring in chemistry at Northeastern University. She is interested in toxicology and diagnostics. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, reading, and kayaking.
Project: 3D cultures of bacteria in paper-based substrates
Mentors: George Whitesides, Matthew Lockett
Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-1005022 | NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center - Science of Nanoscale Systems and their Device Applications (NSEC) | NSF PHY-0646094
Marcus Burkardt
Marcus Burkardt is a rising junior at Cornell University, majoring in applied and engineering physics. He is from Las Cruces, New Mexico, and speaks fluent German. He is a leader on Cornell's Autonomous Underwater Vehicle team and spends much of his time working on the sub.
Project: Hallway mapping and navigation using optic flow with a swarm of micro-helicopters
Mentors: Radhika Nagpal, Karthik Dantu, Jason Waterman
Funding: NSF Collaborative Research: RoboBees: A Convergence of Body, Brain and Colony | NSF IIS-0926148
Anita Chandrahas
Anita Chandrahas is a rising sophomore at the University of Texas at Dallas as part of the Eugene McDermott Scholars Program. She is currently pursuing a biomedical engineering degree and hopes to continue developing her research in systems biology. Anita is passionate about reading and engaging younger students in science. She is excited to spend this summer with everyone in the program!
Project: Building and understanding custom generation gene targeting tools: Next generation gene therapy
Mentors: George Church, Raj Chari
Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
Wesley Chen
Wesley Chen is a Harvard concentrator who hails from Central New Jersey. He is a member of the 2012 Harvard BioDesign Team in the BioMod competition.
Project: BioMod
Mentors: Shih Yin Shah, Adam Marblestone
Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
Matthew Cherewka
Matthew Cherewka is a rising 5th-senior from Harrisburg, PA. He is currently attending Bucknell University studying mechanical engineering and management, with a focus on innovation, product development, and entrepreneurship. Outside of class he serves as captain of the rugby team and president of his fraternity, and also enjoys music.
Project: Design and fabrication of a centimeter-scale centipede robot
Mentors: Rob Wood, Katie Hoffman
Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
Annabel Chew
Annabel Chew is entering her senior year as a materials science major at Columbia University. She was raised in Singapore and is interested in research in clean energy.
Project: Thin film solar cells
Mentors: Roy Gordon, Prasert Sinsermsuksakul
Funding: NSF National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN) | NSF ECCS-0335765
In-Young Cho
In-Young Cho is a Harvard concentrator. She is a member of the 2012 Harvard BioDesign Team in the BioMod competition.
Project: BioMod
Mentors: Shih Yin Shah, Mingjie Dai
Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
Abirvab (Abir) Deb
Abir Deb is a biomedical engineering major specializing in biomechanics. He is a huge Boston sports fan and loves learning about many different interdisciplinary subject matters.
Project: Comparison and optimization of ultrasound responsive hydrogels for spatiotemporal control of bioagent availability
Mentors: David Mooney, Cathay Kearney, Manac Mehta
Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
Kyle DiCamillo
Kyle DiCamillo is a senior double major in physics and math studying at Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, MA. He is originally from Annapolis, Maryland, and hopes to go to graduate school after his studies are complete. He likes to play the piano, read, and listen to music.
Project: Fabrication and characterization of graphene
Mentors: Robert M. Westervelt, John Free, Sagar Bhandari
Funding: NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center - Science of Nanoscale Systems and their Device Applications (NSEC) | NSF PHY-0646094
Ana Cristina Duque
Ana Cristina Duque is a rising junior majoring in chemical engineering at the University of Florida. She hopes to eventually get her Ph.D. in tissue engineering with an emphasis on cardiovascular muscle tissue. She was born in Medellin, Colombia and moved to the United States at the age of nine, and has been living in the Tampa suburb of Land O’ Lakes until her acceptance to UF.
Project: Fabrication of 3D 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate scaffolds for the culturing of NIH3T3 cells
Mentor: Debra Auguste, Jin-Oh You
Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-1005022
Mattias Fitzpatrick
Mattias Fitzpatrick is a rising senior at Middlebury College. He is from Ashland, OR and will be working in the Marcus Lab over this summer.
Project: Fabricated on-chip superconducting resonator circuits capacitively coupled to a carbon nanotube double dot system for non-invasive charge-sensing
Mentor: Charles Marcus, Susan Watson
Funding: NSF RUI: Collaborative Research: Carbon-based long-coherence quantum bit | NSF PHY-1104701
Cooper Galvin
Cooper Galvin is a computer scientist/chemist from Anchorage, Alaska. Growing up in Alaska means all sorts of opportunities for outdoor adventures from skiing endless slopes to hiking the largest mountain in North America. The winters in Alaska are harsh, so he attends school at Pomona College, in warm Claremont, California. He comes from a large family, loves to eat great food, and is always down to adventure.
Project: New approaches to computational chemistry software
Mentors: Alán Aspuru-Guzik, Dmitrij Rappoport
Funding: NSF CDI Type II: Scientific Computation for Astronomy, Neurobiology and Chemistry using Graphics Processing Units and Solid-State Storage| NSF PHY-0835713
Publication: Complex Chemical Reaction Networks from Heuristics-Aided Quantum Chemistry (2014) Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation
Karl Gilbert
Karl Gilbert is a rising senior at Boston University majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology. Upon graduation, he hopes to attend medical school in pursuit of a degree in either ophthalmology or otolaryngology. He enjoys all outdoor activities, especially scuba diving, and hiking. He also spends his free time playing tennis and juggling.
Project: In vitro reperfusion injury device
Mentors: George Whitesides, Bobak Mosadegh
Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
Publication: A paper-based invasion assay: Assessing chemotaxis of cancer cells in gradients of oxygen (2015) Biomaterials
William Gilpin
William Gilpin is a physics concentrator at Princeton University. He is extremely interested in how different areas of science intersect through fields like biophysics and materials science, and he would like to someday work professionally in an interdisciplinary field. In his free time, he enjoys drawing, designing lighting for film/theatre, and building Tesla coils.
Project: Engineering electron occupancy of NV centers using surface-induced charges in diamond
Mentors: Marko Lončar, Khadijeh Bayat
Funding: NSF National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN) | NSF ECCS-0335765
Publication: Formation of nitrogen vacancy center ensembles in diamond nanowires (2014) CLEO: 2014, OSA Technical Digest
Hudson Gloria
Hudson Gloria was born in the capital of Brazil. Hudson is currently a sophomore at Bunker Hill Community College, pursuing a degree in chemical engineering. Coming from a musical family, he eventually came to the United States of America to pursue one of his dreams to become a professional bass player. He has worked with musicians Najee, Kirk Whalum, as well as amazing singers such as Al Jareau, and Stevie Wonder. In his spare time, he likes to listen to a good jazz standard, "Giant Steps!"
Project: Dielectric elastomer energy generator
Mentors: David Clarke, Roger Diebold
Funding: NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center at Harvard (MRSEC) | NSF DMR-0820484
Andreas Haggerty
Andreas Haggerty is a rising senior at Harvard University concentrating in mechanical engineering. He will be working on the Robobees project.
Project: Dielectric elastomer energy generator
Mentors: Rob Wood, Sawyer Fuller
Funding: NSF Collaborative Research: RoboBees: A Convergence of Body, Brain and Colony | NSF IIS-0926148 | Harvard Faculty Aide Program
Elise Hall
Elise Hall is a rising junior at Carnegie Mellon University where she is studying materials science engineering and environmental engineering and sustainability. She is passionate about biomimetics and sustainability. In her free time, she enjoys playing sports, cooking, and reading.
Project: Dielectric elastomer energy generator
Mentors: Joanna Aizenberg, Matthias Kolle
Funding: Air Force Office of Scientific Research Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative
Sarah Halls
Sarah Halls is a rising senior in biomedical engineering at Arizona State University. She is enrolled in the Barrett Honors College at ASU and has been accepted into their graduate program and has since begun working on her masters in biomedical engineering. In her spare time, she enjoys participating in outdoor activities and cultivating her musical talents.
Project: Patterning of multiple cell types in 3D PLGA thin film using origami
Mentors: Debra Auguste, George Ye
Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-1005022
Gao Han
Gao Han is a freshman from SUNY Buffalo, majoring in computer science. He likes basketball, swimming, and PC games.
Project: Size constraints in image and video segmentation by multicuts
Mentors: Hanspeter Pfister, Bjoern Andres
Funding: Institute for Applied Computational Science at Harvard
Erin Hannen
Erin Hannen, originally from Cranford, NJ, is a rising senior at Brown University, concentrating in biomedical engineering. She enjoys running and anything outdoors.
Project: Neuronal path-finding and pattern formation
Mentors: David Weitz, Allen Ehrlicher, Ali Zaburdaev
Funding: National Science Foundation
Kenneth Ho
Kenneth Ho is an exchange student from the University of Hong Kong. He is a mechanical engineering major and is planning to complete a Ph.D. in microfluidics. In his leisure time, he likes to swim, read and spend time with friends and family.
Project: Investigation of osmotically driven fluid flow in plants
Mentors: David Weitz, Nick Carroll
Funding: University of Hong Kong | HKUWW Scholarships
Ian Holmes
Ian Holmes is a rising sophomore at Stanford University, originally from Murray, Kentucky. He is pursuing a degree in materials science & engineering with a minor in drama. His other interests include geocaching, improvisational theater, collegiate a cappella, and playing and listening to music.
Project: Assembly and characterization of stimuli-responsive microcapsules
Mentors: David Weitz, Esther Amstad
Funding: NSF National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN) | NSF ECCS-0335765
Donez Horton-Bailey
Donez Horton-Bailey was born and raised in San Diego, California. He is finishing his senior year at the University of California Santa Cruz, double majoring in applied physics and linguistics. In his free time, he enjoys playing piano and saxophone and plays bassoon in the university wind ensemble.
Project: Dynamics of emulsion droplets near liquid-solid interfaces
Mentors: Vinothan Manoharan, Rebecca Perry
Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-1005022
Michael Hovish
Michael Hovish is a rising senior at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, SUNY Albany. He is a nanoscale science major, with a minor in Mathematics. In his free time, Michael enjoys reading books and cooking.
Project: Self-organized nanostructural pattern formation under ion beam irradiation
Mentors: Michael Aziz, Joy Perkinson
Funding: NSF National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN) | NSF ECCS-0335765
Jeff Iuliano
Jeff Iuliano is a rising senior at Harvard majoring in physics and philosophy.
Project: Graphene on boron nitride
Mentors: Robert M. Westervelt, John Free, Sagar Bhandari
Funding: NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center - Science of Nanoscale Systems and their Device Applications (NSEC) | NSF PHY-0646094
Chelsea Jenney
Chelsea Jenney will be entering her final year at Otterbein University as an undergraduate student in biology and Spanish with a philosophy minor. She plans to ultimately pursue an M.D./Ph.D. in an undecided field of research. She has spent the past two summers in Gamboa, Panamá studying red-eyed treefrogs’ digestion and nutrition. She also spent last winter in Nairobi, Kenya teaching English and math at an orphanage housing children whose parents have succumbed to HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases. Outside of the classroom, she has a passion for international outreach, piano, creative writing, and photography.
Project: Behavioral variation in fruit fly
Mentors: Ben de Bivort, Julien Ayroles
Funding: The Rowland Institute at Harvard
James Johnston
James Johnston will be entering his sophomore year at the University of Miami, and majors in aerospace engineering. He was born in raised in Brigantine, New Jersey. After graduation, he hopes to pursue a master's degree and work for Boeing designing new commercial aircraft. He enjoys going to the beach, sailing, and reading a good novel.
Project: PIV wind tunnel; Particle image velocimetry (PIV) for low-speed wind tunnel
Mentors: Rob Wood, Daniel Vogt, Mike Smith
Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
John (Jack) Keller
John (Jack) Keller is a rising senior at Eastern Nazarene College, majoring in physics and mathematics. He plans on entering a Ph.D. program in physics upon graduation. His non-academic pursuits include computer programming, cross-country running, and mountain biking.
Project: Optimizing computational efficiency of cross-correlation on graphics processing units in radio astronomy
Mentors: Lincoln Greenhill, Jonathon Kocz
Funding: NSF CDI Type II: Scientific Computation for Astronomy, Neurobiology and Chemistry using Graphics Processing Units and Solid-State Storage| NSF PHY-0835713
Dawn Kellogg
Dawn Kellogg is a rising senior majoring in chemistry with a minor in biology at Loyola University in Maryland.
Project: Building instrument to study proton coupled electron transfer in the gas phase
Mentors: Alessandra Ferzoco
Funding: The Rowland Institute at Harvard
Lauren Kennedy
Lauren Kennedy is a rising sophomore majoring in environmental and ecological engineering at Purdue University. She is interested in getting out of Indiana and expanding her horizons. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, eating, and belly dancing with Purdue's Mirage Bellydancers.
Project: Analyzing secondary organic aerosol (SOA) particles from an environmental chamber
Mentor: Scot Martin
Funding: NSF Hygroscopic Phase Transitions of Atmospheric Particles | NSF AGS-0925467
Daniel Kepple
Daniel Kepple is a biological and medical physics and mathematics double major at Syracuse University. He also enjoys outdoor activities, playing classical guitar, and learning about new foods, cultures, places, and people.
Project: High-throughput, directed evolution for studying cell division
Mentors: Dan Needleman, Reza Farhadifar
Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-1005022
Kayleigh Kresse
Kayleigh Kresse is a rising sophomore at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. She plans to major in biological chemistry and attend medical school. Originally from the California bay area, she spent her later years in Tucson, Arizona. She competes on the Grinnell College golf team and has an on-campus job. In her spare time, she also enjoys outdoor activities, playing guitar, watching movies, and spending time with family and friends.
Project: Microcontact printing for separation and analysis of emergent lipid phases
Mentors: George Whitesides, Anand Subramanian, Ramses Martinez
Funding: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - Zero Cost Diagnostics
Publication: Metal-Amplified Density Assays, (MADAs), including a Density-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (DeLISA) (2015) Lab on a Chip
Rohit Krishnan
Rohit Krishnan will be attending the University of Massachusetts – Lowell in the fall. He worked in the Harvard Microrobotics Laboratory last summer and will continue his work this summer.
Project: Intermittent flight trajectory measurements of robotic insects
Mentors: Rob Wood, Ranjana Sahai
Funding: NSF Collaborative Research: RoboBees: A Convergence of Body, Brain and Colony | NSF IIS-0926148
Kavit Kumar
Kavit Kumar was born and raised in the Fiji Islands and moved to America when he was eleven years old. He will be starting his final year in electrical engineering at the University of California - Santa Cruz and will focus in nanotechnology for his future studies. He enjoys reading technology blogs, playing tennis, traveling and thinking about the future.
Project: Smoke generator: Design of a smoke generator for a low-speed wind tunnel
Mentors: Rob Wood, Daniel Vogt, Mike Smith
Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
Helena Liu
Helena Liu is a rising senior at MIT studying materials science. She has never had, nor plans to have hobbies.
Project: Contact electrification of insulating materials
Mentors: George Whitesides, Siowling Soh, Sen Wai Kwok
Funding: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Publication: Contact de-electrification of electrostatically charged polymers (2012) Journal of the American Chemical Society
Valentina Lyau
Valentina Lyau is a rising sophomore at Harvard. She enjoys math almost as much as she enjoys art. She is a member of the 2012 Harvard BioDesign Team in the BioMod competition.
Project: BioMod
Mentors: Shih Yin Shah, Ralf Jungmann
Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
Jordan Mancuso
Jordan Mancuso will be entering her senior year of bioengineering in Syracuse this coming fall. She has been involved in shape memory polymer research at her home college for the past year and hopes to continue that in her senior year. She is an active member of SASSE, Students Advocating Sexual Safety and Empowerment, and SUWRFC, the Syracuse University Women’s Rugby Football Club. She hopes to continue on to study brain-machine interfaces in graduate school and ultimately would like to play a role in developing technologies to help those suffering from neurodegenerative disorders.
Project: Fabrication of Metamaterials by multi-exposure Phase Shift Lithography
Mentors: George Whitesides, Ramses Martinez
Funding: DARPA
Carmen Martinez
Carmen Martinez was born in Albuquerque. New Mexico. She completed her junior year in the chemical engineering program at the University of New Mexico. She is interested in bioengineering and is fascinated with nanotechnology and new efforts surrounding drug delivery and chemical manipulations with nanoparticles. When she is not in the lab, she likes to go running, play soccer, and enjoy time with her family.
Project: Flow of particulate laden fluids through porous media
Mentors: George Whitesides, Anand Subramanian
Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-1005022 and NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center - Science of Nanoscale Systems and their Device Applications (NSEC) | NSF PHY-0646094
Marc Mazur
Marc Mazur is a rising sophomore at Brandeis University in Waltham, MA concentrating in biology and health, society, and social policy. When he finished his undergraduate studies, Marc plans to pursue a medical degree. In his free time, he enjoys traveling to new places, meeting new people, hiking, and running.
Project: Kidney on a chip: Mimicking the kidney with tissue
Mentors: Don Ingber, Geraldine Hamilton
Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
Guðfríður Björg Möller
Guðfríður Björg Möller is a rising junior at Mt. Holyoke College majoring in physics and biology. She is from Reykjavik, Iceland.
Project: The use of optical activity for single shot multispectral imaging
Mentors: Ethan Schonbrun
Funding: The Rowland Institute at Harvard
Publication: Polarization encoded color camera (2014) Optics Letters
Danielle Morabito
Danielle Morabito is a rising senior at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, majoring in biomedical engineering.
Project: Biomedical applications for soft robotics
Mentors: George Whitesides, Bobak Mosadegh
Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
Haley Nesmith
Haley Nesmith is a rising senior at Vanderbilt University majoring in mechanical engineering. In her spare time, she enjoys backpacking, climbing, and crafting.
Project: Engineering a biomimetic substrate for traction force microscopy
Mentors: Kevin Kit Parker, Megan McCain
Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
Publication: Micromolded gelatin hydrogels for extended culture of engineered cardiac tissues (2014) Biomaterials
Saraf Nawar
Saraf Nawar is studying chemistry and physics at Harvard University.
Project: Benzoquinone-hydroquinone couple for flow battery
Mentors: Michael Aziz, Brian Huskinson
Funding: Harvard University Center for the Environment
Publication: Benzoquinone-Hydroquinone Couple for Flow Battery (2012) MRS Online Proceedings Library
John (Clai) Owens
Clai Owens is from Birmingham, Alabama, and is a rising senior at Emory University. He is majoring in physics and chemistry, and interested in researching solid-state physics. When not working on physics projects, he enjoys playing pick-up sports and mountain biking.
Project: Making and watching colloidal crystals
Mentors: Frans Spaepen, Emily Redston, Kate Jensen
Funding: NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center at Harvard (MRSEC) | NSF DMR-0820484
Nekoda Oysler
Nekoda Oysler has just completed his sophomore year at the University of New Mexico. He is studying for a degree in mechanical engineering, which he hopes to use someday to work on developing sustainable sources of energy. In his free time, he enjoys rock climbing, snowboarding, and listening to music.
Project: Force sensor: Design, fabricate and test a high precision force sensor for lift and drag measurements in a low-speed wind tunnel
Mentors: Rob Wood, Daniel Vogt , Mike Smith
Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
Nikita Patel
Nikita Patel is a rising junior at Wilkes University majoring in mechanical engineering and minoring in physics, math and engineering management. After graduation, she plans to find a career relating to mechanical engineering with medical technology. She enjoys watching movies, reading books, and meeting new people.
Project: Design, fabrication, and testing of a novel mechanical vibration system
Mentors: Katia Bertoldi, Sicong Shan
Funding: NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center at Harvard (MRSEC) | NSF DMR-0820484r
Daniel Pennachio
Daniel Pennachio is studying physics and materials science at Colby College and the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth.
Project: The effect of high frequency flow oscillations on bubble formation in microfluidic devices
Mentors: Anderson Shum
Funding: NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center at Harvard (MRSEC) | NSF DMR-0820484
Aaron Perez
Aaron Perez just finished his freshman year at Harvard University where he is concentrating in mechanical engineering and minoring in economics. Raised and born in New York State he enjoys sports of all kinds, aviation and having an adventure.
Project: Designing micro robot levitation and mechanical fixtures to measure lift and drag forces in low-speed wind tunnels
Mentors: Rob Wood, Daniel Vogt
Funding: NSF Collaborative Research: RoboBees: A Convergence of Body, Brain and Colony | NSF IIS-0926148
Ian Perkins
Ian Perkins is currently in an engineering transfer program at Bunker Hill Community College. He plans on transferring into a mechanical engineering degree program this upcoming year. His family has a large engineering background, specializing in Meehanite iron castings, at a family run business located in Bridgewater MA, where he also grew up. Ian has also proudly served his country for four years as an Army Ranger.
Project: Piezoelectric nanofibers as sensors for cardiac tissue engineering
Mentors: Kevin Kit Parker, Josué Goss
Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-1005022 and NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center - Science of Nanoscale Systems and their Device Applications (NSEC) | NSF PHY-0646094
Alexandria Pierce
Alexandria Pierce is a junior at the University of Texas Pan America in Edinburg Texas. She is majoring in physics while undertaking a minor in mathematics. Alexandria grew up in South Texas’ Rio Grande Valley. While there she earned her High School diploma from The Science Academy of South Texas. Alex hopes to further her family’s military tradition by earning her Ph.D. and going to work as a civilian for the Army Research Lab.
Project: Silicon hyperdoped with germanium by sputtered deposition and pulsed-laser melting
Mentors: Michael Aziz, Austin Akey
Funding: NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center at Harvard (MRSEC) | NSF DMR-0820484
Alexander (Alec) Sands
Alexander (Alec) Sands is from New York City and attends Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he is majoring in aeronautical and mechanical engineering. His interest in applied science and design started at an early age, and he looks forward to pursuing this interest in his future career. He spends most of his spare time at the pool. He is a sprint freestyler for the RPI swim team. When he’s not swimming, he spends time with his brothers at the Delta Phi fraternity. They organize several community service days throughout the semester and host an open dinner every Friday.
Project: Design of a smoke generator for a low-speed wind tunnel
Mentors: Rob Wood, Sawyer Fuller, Mike Karpelson
Funding: NSF Collaborative Research: RoboBees: A Convergence of Body, Brain and Colony | NSF IIS-0926148
Chris Satterwhite
Chris Satterwhite is majoring in physics and applied mathematics at North Carolina State University. He is interested in condensed matter physics and its applications in renewable energy technologies. In his free time, he enjoys staying active and reading.
Project: Theoretical study of intermediate band photovoltaics
Mentors: Alán Aspuru-Guzik, Xavier Andrade, Jacob Krich
Funding: NSF SOLAR Optical Hyperdoping: Transforming Semiconductor Band Structure for Solar Energy Harvesting | NSF DMR-0934480
Kevin Schilling
Kevin Schilling is a rising senior majoring in chemistry at the California Polytechnic State University.
Project: Understanding protein-ligand binding
Mentors: George Whitesides, Matthew Lockett
Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
Weliu Shen
Weilu Shen will attend the Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute in applied physics and materials engineering beginning this fall. She was born in Sendai, Japan, and recently became a U.S. Citizen
Project: Studying the melt depth of laser-modified silicon: TEM and sample preparation with FIB
Mentors: Eric Mazur, Yu-Ting Lin
Funding: NSF SOLAR Optical Hyperdoping: Transforming Semiconductor Band Structure for Solar Energy Harvesting | NSF DMR-0934480
YooSun Shim
YooSun Shim a chemical and biomolecular engineering major at Johns Hopkins University. She’ll be a master's student in the 5 year BS/MS program at Hopkins.
Project: Active nanotubes networks
Mentors: David Weitz, Michael de Volder
Funding: NSF National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN) | NSF ECCS-0335765
Jon Snyder
Jon Snyder is a rising junior at Juniata College with a program of emphasis in physics. He grew up in central Pennsylvania and enjoys family gatherings, snowboarding, and live music.
Project: Fabrication and implementation of tapered optical fiber waveguides
Mentors: Evelyn Hu, Alex Woolf
Funding: NSF Materials World Network to Optimize the Growth of InGaN Quantum Dots within High Quality Optical Micro-Cavities | NSF DMR-1008480
Naiya Soetan
Naiya Soetan grew up in Chandler, Arizona. Then, she went to Houston, TX to go to Rice University. She is currently a second-year bioengineering student. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in bioengineering and an M.B.A.
Project: Shape memory polymer variable stiffness joints
Mentors: Rob Wood, Yigit Mengüç
Funding: NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center at Harvard (MRSEC) | NSF DMR-0820484
Trevor Tanner
Trevor Tanner is a rising sophomore majoring in biomedical engineering at the University of Utah
Project: New approaches to computational chemistry software
Mentors: Alán Aspuru-Guzik, Dmitrij Rappoport
Funding: NSF CDI Type II: Scientific Computation for Astronomy, Neurobiology and Chemistry using Graphics Processing Units and Solid-State Storage| NSF PHY-0835713
Jason Ting
Jason Ting is a rising junior at Harvard University concentrating in mechanical and material engineering. He swims as a member of the Harvard Men’s Swimming and Diving team. He enjoys playing video games, keeping up with television shows, and hanging out with friends.
Project: Soft machine fabrication and testing
Mentors: George Whitesides, Stephen Morin, Aaron Mazzeo
Funding: NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center at Harvard (MRSEC) | NSF DMR-0820484
Aaron Trowell
Aaron Trowell is a rising junior at Emmanuel College majoring in biology with a concentration in neuroscience.
Project: Micro-fabrication of metal features on a bench top
Mentors: George Whitesides, Rui Nunes
Funding: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-Zero Cost Diagnostics
Gottlieb Uahengo Jr.
Gottlieb Uahengo Jr. is a rising senior at Augsburg College in Minneapolis MN, where he is majoring in physics. He is particularly interested in an interdisciplinary approach to engineering with a focus on researching and implementing technologies of the future.
Project: Flow of particulate laden fluids through porous media
Mentors: Joanna Aizenberg, Elisa Maldonado
Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-1005022 and NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center - Science of Nanoscale Systems and their Device Applications (NSEC) | NSF PHY-0646094
Megan Uberti
Megan Uberti is a rising senior at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in mechanical engineering. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, reading, and playing the piano.
Project: Printable robots - mechanical design
Mentors: Rob Wood, Mike Tolley
Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
Eugenia Volkova
Eugenia Volkova is a rising senior at New York University majoring in chemistry and chemical engineering. She moved from Russia to the South Bronx with her family in 1995. She plans to pursue an MD/PhD.
Project: Effect of topological surface movement on bacterial attachment and growth
Mentors: Joanna Aizenberg, Ben Hatton
Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
Laura Weinstock
Laura Weinstock is a rising sophomore majoring in biochemistry at Northeastern University.
Project: Development of biologically amenable polyelectrolytic hydrogels for voltage-controlled drug delivery
Mentors: David Mooney, Stephen Kennedy, Sidi Bencherif
Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-1005022
Publication: Rapid and Extensive Collapse from Electrically Responsive Macroporous Hydrogels (2014) Advanced Healthcare Materials
Brandon Wilson
Brandon Wilson a rising junior at the University of Rochester, majoring in chemical engineering and biochemistry with a minor in material science. He is from Braintree, MA. In his spare time, he enjoys playing squash, badminton, and golf. He also plays guitar and piano.
Project: Modeling cell and particle mechanics using microaspiration
Mentors: SooJung SJ Claire Hur
Funding: The Rowland Institute at Harvard
Jonathan Wood
Jonathan Wood is a sophomore at Bunker Hill Community College, majoring in chemical engineering. He is aUnited States Marine Corps veteran. He enjoys travel, reading, and the outdoors.
Project: Piezoelectric nanofibers as sensors for cardiac tissue engineering
Mentors: Kevin Kit Parker, Josué Goss
Funding: NSF REU Site - Biomaterials Research Initiative Dedicated to Gateway Experiences | NSF DMR-1005022 and NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center - Science of Nanoscale Systems and their Device Applications (NSEC) | NSF PHY-0646094
Kevin Yang
Kevin Yang is a rising sophomore from Franklin, Massachusetts. Currently attending Northeastern University, he plans on pursuing a degree in electrical and computer engineering. In his spare time, Kevin enjoys playing the violin, skiing, tennis, and traveling.
Project: Localization of micro-helicopters using Kinects indoors
Mentors: Radhika Nagpal, Karthik Dantu, Bryan Kate
Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
Jang Hoon (John) Yoon
Jang Hoon (John) Yoon is a rising junior at Gordon College, MA, studying to become a missionary doctor with a double major in biology and Spanish. During his free time, he likes to play ultimate frisbee, play videogames, or even just talking and getting to know people.
Project: The influence of electrostatics on the hydrophobic effect inside a protein pocket
Mentors: George Whitesides, Heiko Lange, Benjamin Breiten
Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
Cornell Young
Cornell Young is a rising junior majoring in applied physics and mechanical engineering at Morehouse College. After Morehouse, he hopes to earn his Ph.D. When not studying or doing research, he enjoys playing basketball, the piano, and hanging with friends.
Project: Soft retractor for use in surgery
Mentors: George Whitesides, Stephen Morin
Funding: NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center at Harvard (MRSEC) | NSF DMR-0820484
Huma Yusuf
Huma Yusuf is a sophomore double majoring in physics and mathematics at Mount Holyoke College. She is originally from Bangladesh. She enjoys reading, singing and exploring new places.
Project: "Tagging" DNA using microfluidics
Mentors: David Weitz , Assaf Rotem
Funding: National Science Foundation
Ze Yi Zhang
Ze Yi Zhang was born and raised in Hang Zhou, China and studied at the University of Hong Kong since 2010. He is a mechanical engineering major and is planning to do a Ph.D. in the same field. His academic performance is well accepted and his creativity keeps growing all the time. He likes to swim, read, and spend time with his family and best friends.
Project: Fabricating 3D negative poisson's ratio (NPR) material with degradable hydrogel
Mentors: David Weitz, Tom Kodger
Funding: University of Hong Kong | HKUWW Scholarships
Xing Jie Zhong
Xing Jie Zhong is a rising junior at the University of Colorado at Boulder. His major is electrical and computer engineering and he is minoring in computer science and applied math. In his spare time, he enjoys drawing and painting.
Project: Printable rowbot
Mentors: Rob Wood, Mike Tolley
Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
Jimmy Zhu
Jimmy Zhu attends Cornell University and is starting his junior year in the fall. He is majoring in mechanical engineering with a minor in computer science. In his free time, he enjoys practicing Chinese martial arts and watching football.
Project: Fast algorithms for N-body problems
Mentors: Cris Cecka
Funding: Institute for Applied Computational Science at Harvard
Sloan Zimmerman
Sloan Zimmerman is a rising senior concentrating in mechanical engineering and materials science at Harvard University.
Project: Endurance-enhancing smart suit
Mentors: Conor Walsh, Hao Pei
Funding: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
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