Our CURE Grants

The program is organized in cohorts, a structural strategy that allows for quick program expansion and scalability. A new cohort is recruited each year from faculty applications. Faculty participating in a STEM-CURE cohort are responsible for the design, implementation, and expansion of their CUREs. Additionally, faculty act as mentors for the next cohort. There will be a total five cohorts over the course of the grant.

Cohort IV Grantees 2022-2023

Mesa Community College

Disparities in urban tree cover in Mesa, AZ - Studies show that socioeconomic status and race can both affect the number of trees in neighborhoods and parks. Students will help document urban trees in areas near the college.

Grantee - Sean Whitcomb

COURSE- Environmental Biology, BIO105

Phoenix College

How population growth and climate change impact the current and future availability of the water supply in Phoenix - student will analyze the past and present water data. Groundwater and surface water levels will be plotted against population growth to understand the effects of human water demands on water supply.

Grantee - Abdeer Hamdan

COURSE- Introduction to Geology, GLG101

Phoenix College

Climate change mitigation research - students will collect, model, and analyze data related to the albedo factor of materials and/or blackbody radiation on the Phoenix College campus or in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Grantee - Emily Bogusch

COURSE- Introduction to Physics, PHY101

Cohort III Grantees 2021-2022

Chandler-Gilbert Community College

Evaluating Local Environmental Quality to Understand Climate Change Effects CURE

Grantee - Jacqueline Cala

COURSE- Biology Concepts, BIO 100

Mesa Community College

Creating an opportunity for Chemistry students to connect and apply their knowledge of competency-based lab techniques to real-world problem analyses CURE - in this CURE students will analyze soil samples from the Navajo nation to look for contaminants in the soil that could disrupt plant growth and affect human health.

Grantee - Asmita Kane

COURSE- General Chemistry, CHM 151

GateWay Community College

Isolation and identification of microbes around drought-tolerant plant roots (rhizosphere microbes) CURE - in this CURE students will identify the bacterial and fungal species present around the roots sampled and share that information with agricultural partners.

Grantee - Saroj Chirravuri

COURSE- Microbiology, BIO 205

Pollinator Diversity in Urban Habitats CURE

Grantee - Jennifer Foltz-Sweat

COURSE- Introductory Biology for Allied Health, BIO 156

Phoenix College

Do Photography Mentoring Programs Build Resilience in Adolescents CURE

Grantee - Anndee Rickey

COURSE- Introduction to Psychology, PSY 101

Cohort II Grantees 2020-2021

Estrella Mountain Community College

Crime Modeling CURE: Mathematical Models of Crime in Phoenix Metro

Grantee - Filippo Posta

COURSE- Elementary Linear Algebra, MAT 225

Glendale Community College

Honeybee CURE: The effects of diet on the honey bee gut microbiome

Grantee - Nicholas Baker

COURSE- General Biology (Majors) I, BIO 181

Mesa Community College

Microbiome Research CURE: a study of the microbial gut community of the lower termites as a model for microbiome research

Grantee - Francesca De Martini

COURSE- General Biology (Majors) I, BIO 181

Chandler Gilbert Community College

Energy Analysis CURE: Utilizing steam turbine diagnostics data to find anomalies and model more efficient solutions to meet the needs of an energy industry partner

Grantee - Arlisa Richardson

COURSE- General Physics I, PHY 111

GateWay Community College

Bat Ecology CURE: Ecology and seasonal diet variation in urban bats

Grantee - Herb Wildey

COURSE- General Biology (Majors) II, BIO 182

South Mountain Community College

Drought Tolerance in Desert Plants CURE: Kinetic characterization of betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase (BADH) from desert plants

Grantee -Chelsea McIntosh

COURSE- General Chemistry II, CHM 152LL

Cohort I Grantees 2019-2020

Phoenix College

Wastewater Treatment CURE

Grantee - Robin Cotter

COURSE- Microbiology, BIO 205

CURE Description- Students test for the presence of E.coli, Pseudomonas species, nitrates and microplastics at each stage of the wastewater treatment process using FTIR and 16S gene sequencing. Students will then test hypotheses relating to the biodegradation of microplastics and the conditions in which Pseudomonas species can enhance the wastewater treatment process.

Phoenix College

Short Blood Sample CURE

Grantee - Anna Marti-Subirana

COURSE- General Biology (Majors) I, BIO 181

CURE Description- Short blood samples often render inaccurate results, but may be the only option when it is difficult to draw enough blood from patients. This CURE will test if short samples produce inaccurate Basic Metabolic Panel (BMP) results. Students will collect, process, and test blood samples (standard and short) for BMP analytes and determine the minimum number of samples required to produce significant results.

Phoenix College

Zoo Plant Collection Showcase CURE

Grantee - Elena Ortiz

COURSE- Plants and Society, BIO 108

CURE Description-Students will develop a scope of work for an interactive map of the interesting plants of the Phoenix Zoo. Students will create interactive map prototypes that are compliant with zoo standards and ADA regulations and present their interactive maps and the pros and cons of different map creation services to the Phoenix Zoo.

Phoenix College

AZ Water and Air Data Mining CURE

Grantee - Frank Marfai

COURSE- Elements of Statistics, MAT 206

CURE Description- Students utilize public data sets from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) and the Department of Health Services (AZDHS) to identify patterns across data sets. Students will be looking at issues such as the distribution of ozone, impact of uncontrolled burns on air quality, PFAS (chemicals found in Teflon and many other products), arsenic in water, and look for relationships with public health data.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1832543. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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