Office of Undergraduate Research

Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/20157

Emphasizing equitable and inclusive access to research opportunities, the University of Maryland's Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) empowers undergraduates and faculty to engage and succeed in inquiry, creative activity, and scholarship. This collection includes materials shared by undergraduate researchers during OUR events. It also encompasses materials from Undergraduate Research Day 2020, Undergraduate Research Day 2021, and Undergraduate Research Day 2022, which were organized by the Maryland Center for Undergraduate Research.

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Subject: search.filters.subject.First-Year Innovation and Research Experience (FIRE)

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Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
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    Quantum Finance: Exploring Asset Management with QAOA
    (2024) Henkle, Evan; Igur, Vismay; Karnik, Sara; Velaga, Sourabh; Jabeen, Shabnam; Khan, Alex
    Quantum computers are becoming more and more applicable to a variety of applications due to their ability to exponentially speed up computation. This project aims to utilize quantum technology to build a Quantum Approximation Optimization Algorithm (QAOA), to redefine portfolio optimization in finance. We aim to conduct a series of simulations to evaluate the effectiveness of our quantum based portfolio strategy, and compare the outcomes against those achieved through traditional optimization methods. Our preliminary research indicates that the quantum approach may result in faster and higher quality portfolio solutions, leading to more profitable and risk averse investments. By translating the challenge of finding the optimal combination of assets - balancing risk and return - into a problem that can be solved by quantum computing, we unlock new possibilities for financial analysis and decision making.
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    Big Eyes in the Ocean
    (2024) Clermont, Letsky; Johnson, Lena
    Coral reefs are the central hub in supporting diverse marine life and are facing escalating threats from global warming and human activity. Reefs are important to human life as they provide protection from coastal storms, and are a source of food and scientific insight. The increased need for motoring the life reefs necessitates cameras capable of capturing reef conditions over time in shallow to deep water. This research proposes a novel approach of combining insights from the visual biology of tarsiers with previous work that created affordable depth cameras for high-fidelity imaging. Tarsiers are remarkably small primates with a length of 9–16 cm and have the largest eye-to-head ratio of any mammal. Tarsiers’ vision systems utilize their eye size to take in a large quantity of light allowing them to efficiently hunt insects in low-light conditions. Applying this heightened depth perception to ocean imaging cameras can help improve image quality at depth with low light. The standard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration advises for reef research and restoration utilizes large-area imaging to create 3D topographic representations of the reefs using structure-from-motion software. Previous research at Disney Research found a method of modifying the software of low-cost depth cameras to create detailed 3D representations of reefs. Adapting this vision system to depth cameras can augment the resolution, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness of coral reef imaging. By contributing to more affordable reef imaging cameras, more communities can contribute to the comprehension and monitoring of coral reef ecosystems amidst mounting environmental pressures.
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    Silicone Fish Tail Actuator Capable of Variable Stiffening
    (2024) Abrishamian, Shirah Shoshanah Ariel; Lena, Johnson; Huertas-Cerdeira, Cecilia
    This work documents the creation of a fish-inspired robot actuator - from the conceptual design to a functional silicone model. The effect between the variable stiffness of a fish body and swimming efficiency has been a research subject in recent years. Often anatomy or function of an organism will inspire technological designs, particularly within the study of robotics. Animals have flexible anatomy for a range of possible maneuvers, and why fish-inspired robots are a popular choice in research. Studies have suggested a key to swim speed and efficiency in fish has been through tunable musculature. While muscle stiffness is difficult to measure in live fish, there is strong, natural evidence from several species, such as sunfish and tuna fish, showcasing this idea. Promoting inspired designs is the next step in improving robot performance. The deceptively simple appearance of typical fish combined with the numerous species' traits provides several possible robot designs. The robots can be objectively simple, with a trivial body and motor design to observe simple caudal fin motion. Or they can be exceptionally complicated if the research chooses to explore the nuances of fish anatomy and physiology, and how the impact on fish swimming in nature translates into an engineered construct. This would be beneficial due to the close relationship between bio-inspired design and soft robotics, fish bodies make a prime testing ground for soft robotics. No matter the simplicity, these robot designs can then be tested to gather valuable experimental data. This collaboration of technology and analysis then results in robots with advanced designs and special maneuvering capabilities. This research project aims to develop a tuna-inspired tail actuator capable of variable stiffness via a pneumatic system. Once attached to a 3D-printed fish body, it will be used to observe vorticity changes in fluid.
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    Draco Lizard-Inspired Robot for Structure Collapse Search
    (2024) Phillips, Savannah; Johnson, Lena
    Many high-stress situations can be difficult to navigate for first responders. Scenes such as active fires and building collapses require precise response tactics in order to minimize risk to first responders and victims alike. Disaster response tends to leave outcomes up to chance as a result of the unpredictable nature of these situations. Introducing robots into disaster response may help reduce uncertainty. Specifically, engineering robots to perform reconnaissance and relay critical information could greatly mitigate the risk posed to first responders entering dangerous scenes. My aim is to design a robot that possesses the gliding and crawling capabilities of the draco lizard. Draco lizards have unique wings that are used to glide amongst trees. My goal is to incorporate this gliding system into the robot, enabling it to be deployed to disaster sites with ease and reducing the workload for first responders. Equipped with cameras, the robot will be able to relay footage of the disaster scene for monitoring. Additionally, a thermal sensing system permits the transmission of quantitative data on potentially hazardous conditions, aiding in the locating of victims and ensuring informed and safer rescue operations.
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    Designing a Fish-like Robot That Can Swim on Water and Walk on Land
    (2024) Garcia, Jimmy; Johnson, Lena
    The Chesapeake Bay offers a scenic escape but struggles with excessive algae growth, particularly in forested wetlands. To address this, we are developing a robotic fish with a unique drivetrain that allows it to navigate both water and land, targeting hard-to-reach landscapes - like forested wetlands - as this is where excessive algae growth concentrates. Throughout our research, we discovered the Pleco fish - a fish that can swim on water and walk on land using its tail fin. We believe replicating this locomotion system will advance the development of algae cleanup robots. Because of this, we are designing our robot to use a dual-gated system; the robot will have one drivetrain with two functions - swimming and walking. To develop our robot, we first focused on three key areas: the body, tail, and locomotion system (swimming and walking). We built a prototype that navigates water and makes rudimentary walking motions on land. However, it uses two swimming and walking movement systems, which are still limited. We tested the robot’s aquatic abilities via a trial run in a controlled, clean pool at the University of Maryland, College Park’s Neutral Buoyancy Research Facility. We are trying to iterate the design of the current drivetrain system and integrate the swimming and walking capabilities into one dual-gated system. This system should allow the robot to swim and walk on water without utilizing separate movement systems. We hope these new iterations will bring us closer to replicating the locomotion of the pleco fish and help empower researchers and engineers to develop robotic platforms for cleaning algae in forested wetlands - a future of an algae-free bay.
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    Preparation and Application of In-House E. coli Cell-Free Protein Expression Kits
    (2024) Murthy, Maya; Philip, June; Ryan, Blaise; Heber, Audrey; Aronsky, Morgan; Spirito, Catherine; Zeidan, Quira; Spirito, Catherine; Zeidan, Quira
    Cell-free expression technology is cutting-edge research that would allow for increased flexibility, reliability, and versatility in the development of biosensors. This project is a joint between the Molecular Diagnostics and Cell-Ex labs in the FIRE program at the University of Maryland, in which we examine the usability of cell-free expression for workflows that differ from what they have been designed for, and conduct research into the feasibility of creating our own cell-free extract for further experimentation. In doing so, we determine the feasibility of using cell-free extract across different lab workflows, the possibility of creating it , and the cost-effectiveness of doing so versus commercial alternatives.
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    The Efficacy of Electric Vehicles
    (2024) Ratnavale, William; Demirekler, Defne; Srivastava, Vai; Ruangmas, Thanicha
    As a part of the Biden Administration’s Investing in America agenda, the administration is targeting that at least fifty percent of new car sales will be electric by 2030. Using emissions data from 2010 to 2019, Holland et al. (2022) highlighted concerns that the increased electricity production to meet this additional demand could lead to an increase in marginal emissions, offsetting the environmental benefits predicted by the Biden Administration. Our research builds upon their findings by utilizing updated emissions data from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Air Markets Division and hourly electricity generation from the Energy Information Administration from 2020 to 2022 to study how the marginal emissions for electric vehicles have changed in recent years compared to gasoline vehicles. By focusing on this timeframe, our study updates the existing literature on electric vehicle emissions and serves as a benchmark for future policy analysis since this time frame predates the rapid expansion in electric vehicle production and sales into the future.
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    Ligation-LAMP to Detect miR-221 Cancer Biomarker
    (2024) Kaiser, Jillian; Lee, HaeSung Lola; Patel, Khushi; Sugg, Bethany; Spirito, Catherine
    Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women and can be fatal. Current breast cancer diagnostic tools such as mammograms, MRIs, and biopsies are invasive, costly, time-consuming, and inefficient. Isothermal amplification assays, such as loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), can be designed to detect miRNA cancer biomarkers in blood samples. The focus of our project is to detect miRNA-221, a breast cancer biomarker, using a ligation-LAMP assay with high specificity and sensitivity. During ligation LAMP, miR-221 is reverse transcribed to cDNA. The cDNA acts as a splint to ligate two hairpins that form the dumbbell needed for LAMP amplification by Bst Polymerase. LAMP amplification can be detected through colorimetric methods, using phenol red and HNB. Intercalating fluorescent dye can also be used, or a CRISPR system can be used and yield a fluorescent output as well. Our primary findings include successful tests using colorimetric LAMP. We have seen nonspecific amplification causing false positives, but by adding betaine, a reagent that hinders nucleic acid amplification rate, to our reactions, the positive control amplifies sooner than the negative. Using the colorimetric and fluorescent methods described, ligation LAMP can be used to efficiently detect breast cancer biomarker miR-221.
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    One-Pot Ligation LAMP Assay to Detect miRNA-222: A Glioma Biomarker
    (2024) Adane, Yedidya; Anjum, Azkah; Bogusch, Alejandra; Fernandes, Catarina; Naseem, Zoya; Pallavajjala, Roshni; Vempaty, Nitya; Spirito, Catherine
    Modern day cancer diagnostic methods are invasive, time-consuming, expensive, and inaccessible to most. Delayed cancer diagnosis can lower patient survival rates. By designing a Ligation Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (Ligation LAMP) assay, an alternative amplification method to PCR, we can detect miRNA-222: an established biomarker that is found in elevated levels in the bloodstream of early-stage glioma patients. Employing an experimental design, this study confirms that miRNA-222 elicits a detectable colorimetric and fluorescent output through the Ligation LAMP assay, demonstrating its specificity and sensitivity to our biomarker. We are currently working on implementing our assay into a one-pot system, using Thermally Responsive Alkane Partitions (TRAPs). This innovative approach may transform current diagnostic tools and thus increase glioma survival rates.