Projects change each year. The projects below are samples from the past two years, not a complete listing of all projects. Projects for the current year are not finalized prior to the student application deadline. Students who are accepted to the program will find a list of available projects from which to choose enclosed with their letter of acceptance.

Investment in the Future: Alternative Energy Technology Development
Electronic Systems Department, ASU Polytechnic (East Campus)

From solar modules to wind turbines, from biogas to fuel cells, the development of alternative energy technologies has become not only the environmental responsibility of the current generation, but also one of the fastest growing business sectors. The Electronic Systems Department of the ASU/Polytechnic is an education and research focal point for students, industry, and government in the field of alternative energy. Research is underway in the areas of solar photovoltaics and fuel cells, with the goal of solving immediate technological and cost challenges critical for the emergence of these new technologies. Specific areas of research and development include use of advances in microfabrication and nanotechnology for component and material improvement for portable, automotive, and stationary fuel cells. Students participate in the larger research project to identify novel catalysts, explore use of renewable materials (e.g., biomass) as fuel, elucidate the mechanism of oxygen reduction in fuel cells, build fuel cells for use in laptop computers, or work in the in the solar photovoltaic test laboratory. NOTE: Work on this project takes place at the ASU Polytechnic Campus in East Mesa.

Sonoran Desert Community Ecology
School of Life Sciences

This project studies the community ecology of Sonoran Desert woody plants and cacti using mathematical modeling, soil science, experimental manipulation of resources and small mammal densities, and spatial statistics to study perennial plant community composition and dynamics. By studying biotic interactions and vegetation patterns at multiple scales, researchers elucidate the relative importance of, and interactions between, biotic and environmental drivers in plant community dynamics in arid regions.

Modeling Molecular Biology Systems
ASU Biodesign Institute and School of Life Sciences

This project designs agent-based models of molecular biology systems in order to study how cells make decisions. The work is computational in nature, but researchers work closely with 'wet' biologists in the Center for Glycobiology at ASU's Biodesign Institute. In an era where molecular biology is increasing in importance, better computational systems for studying and designing biological system are needed. Agent-based models differ from traditional modeling methods in that they attempt to capture emergent properties of the system, which will help us understand how cells decide which paths to walk down. The initial modeling work is on cell guidance, such as in neurons during regeneration, though it can be applied to a variety of areas including cancer angiogenesis or fungal growth. The long-term vision for the modeling effort is to provide design tools for engineering therapeutics or synthetic biology.

Effects of Surface Water Decline on Streamside Animal Community Structure Using Stable Water Isotopes and a Water Web Approach
School of Life Sciences

As human populations around the world grow, there are increasing demands on water supplies, with many areas obtaining their water through groundwater pumping. Reductions in groundwater can lead to drying of rivers and streams. This drying could potentially have large impacts on the ecology of land animals surrounding the river. This project used stable, non-radioactive water isotopes to trace how animals use different water sources, in order to identify a water web, as opposed to a food web. Students conducted three different projects to determine how the availability of water affects cricket growth, cricket chirping behavior, and interactions between crickets and their predators.

Mathematical Modeling of Internal Disease
Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Students worked with a scientific team studying processes within a single biological host that can be described by models inspired by ecological stoichiometry, which is the study of the balance of energy and multiple chemical resources in ecological interactions. Originally formulated and verified in the fields of limnology and plant ecology, biological stoichiometry has recently been applied to such diverse areas as organism development and tumor growth. The primary aim of this research is the construction of predictive and verifiable theoretical models which can begin to explicitly deal with the effects of stoichiometric interactions in within-host disease dynamics. Students worked on a mathematical model to describe the growth of glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, on HIV viral dynamics and immunology, and on infleunza infection.

Modeling and Analysis of Semiconductor Manufacturing
Computer Engineering

The Modeling and Analysis of Semiconductor Manufacturing Laboratory at ASU was created to improve the cost effectiveness of semiconductor manufacturing. This is done by understanding the needs of semiconductor manufacturers, determining the current state-of-the-art in modeling and analysis tools and techniques, modifying existing tools and techniques to address industry needs, and developing new tools and techniques. Problem areas studied in the MASM lab include factory performance analysis, factory planning and scheduling, equipment productivity methodologies, statistical process control, design of experiments, data mining, and supply chain management.

There are many projects available in the laboratory, including supply-chain simulation, new paradigms in manufacturing simulation, new paradigms in manufacturing scheduling, and development of capacity planning algorithms. Each of these projects offers an opportunity to develop methodologies to improve manufacturing performance. Regardless of the project selected, students learn about semiconductor manufacturing, how to develop new methodologies, and how to test the methodologies to determine if improvements to current standards have been met.

Honey Bee and Africanized Bee Competition
School of Life Sciences

Understanding how newly introduced organisms out-compete those currently present is important for reasons ranging from the ecological to the financial. This is particularly true in the case of Africanized or "killer bees" displacing the gentle "European" bees commonly used by beekeepers and previously found in the wild. The presence of Africanized bees has caused problems for beekeepers and farmers, made bee removal services necessary, and may be negatively impacting native pollinators. However, Africanized and European honey bees are actually the same species, so what differences between them are allowing the Africanized bees to out-compete Europeans? We know that Africanized colonies grow faster, but how? Students examined part of this question by looking at the eating habits of Africanized and European bees; specifically, they looked at phosphorous levels in the bees’ diets, in different parts of their anatomy, and at different stages of their life cycle.

Biogeochemistry of the Verde River
Department of Geological Sciences

This study investigated how dissolved organic compounds are transformed as they travel through a natural river system. The study focused on the Verde River system which supplies drinking water to the Phoenix area. Dissolved organic carbon can be a contaminant in drinking water and can lead to taste and odor problems during the water treatment process. After visiting the field site and learning to collect and analyze water samples, students developed their own experiment to try to understand the effect of ultra-violet rays on dissolved organic carbon. Students worked in a biogeochemistry laboratory at ASU and in the field.

The San Pedro River Runs Through It: The Spatial Arrangement of Vegetation Patches and Hydrological Flow Networks
School of Life Sciences

This study examined how different scales of spatial complexity in river riparian corridors control nutrient cycling and retention. It measured heterogeneity (spatial variability) in: 1) channel complexity among reaches, 2) the hydrological flow network within the reaches, and 3) vegetation patches within reaches. Students learned how to digitize complex and simple reaches in the San Pedro River in a Geographic Information System (GIS), and how to measure different elements of spatial heterogeneity at different scales. They then combined these elements to develop metrics (measures) of complexity, and linked their analyses to field studies of nutrient cycling.