Projects

A Digital Transition Portfolio with Burlington County Special Services School District

Collaboration with Dr. Cruz, and members at BCSSSD

Funded by BCSSSD (2024-2026)

Project Team Members: Jes Mastriano, Abby Cassino

This project is in collaboration with the Burlington County Special Services School District. Through a Junior and Senior Clinic project, we have been working to create a digital portfolio platform for students to use to document their experiences while in a transition program. The transition program serves students ages 18-21 with disabilities.

Cultivating the Future Soft Robotics Workforce through Integrated Undergraduate Research and Education

Collaboration with Drs. Xue, Trkov, and Bakrania in ME

Funded by the National Science Foundation (2023-2026)

Project Team Members: Joey Midiri, Kathy Trieu

This project offers integrated research and education activities, targeting undergraduate education in soft robotics. Educational modules on soft robotics topics are co-created with undergraduate students. Check out our website!

A New Framework for EML in Undergraduate Research REU Programs

Collaboration with Dr. Staehle in BME, Drs. Bodnar and Mallouk in ExEEd, and members at WPI and Wake Forest

Funded by the Kern Family Foundation (2023-2026)

Project Team Members: Alex Jackson, Noor Alukah, Jamael Ajah

This project offers summer research opportunities for BME students in start-up company environments. We want to explore how these experiences shape students' entrepreneurial mindsets as well as the mindsets of their peers in summer research experiences in academic labs. Curious to learn more about how to build an entrepreneurial mindset in your summer research program? Check out our website!

How Students Navigate Engineering with Non-Apparent Disabilities

Funded by the New Jersey Health Foundation (2023-2024)

Project Team Members: Darby Riley, Cara Mawson, Heather Malino, Jamael Ajah

This project seeks to understand what classroom practices support students with non-apparent disabilities, creating recommendations for educators to make their engineering classrooms more accessible by prioritizing students's voices in the recommendations.

Training Holistic Research Innovators Via Education Postdoctoral Fellowships in STEM (THRIVE-STEM)

Collaboration with Dr. Mallouk in ExEEd and Dr. Perry in Content Area Teacher Education

Funded by the National Science Foundation (2024-2027)

Project Team Members: Dr. Jacque Tawney

This postdoctoral fellowship program is unique because it prioritizes building fellows’ ability to find and maintain a healthy balance between their work and personal lives while upholding excellent research standards. Programming will be co-developed in partnership with research faculty, teaching faculty, and graduate students and then further shaped by the fellows we accept. Fellows will develop their research and communication skills, obtain strategies to support their career growth long-term, and explore ways to maintain their mental and social health alongside their research careers.