Community Flood Risk Assessment from Rising/Surging Seas Project
Kevin Kupietz, Elizabeth City State University
Globally 634 million people, 10% of the world's population, live in coastal areas less than 10 meters above sea level. According to 2010 census data, 123 million people, 39% of the United States population, live in coastal counties with an estimated increase to this number by 8% in the 2020 census. As natural disasters have been seen to increase in frequency and severity in the past five years coupled with expected sea rises from climate change it is important that anyone involved with the safety and resiliency planning of their organization/community have an understanding of how to scientifically assess risk from flooding in order to mitigate and recover from the effects. This project allows students the ability to develop skills to utilize computer modeling systems and to apply the data to real world communities in examining risk to structures as well as different groups in the community.

Research in Agriculture
Chantel Simpson, North Carolina A & T State University; Chastity Warren English, North Carolina A & T State University
Explores research methods in agriculture including observational, correlational, survey and experimental methods. Uses the scientific method in the design, execution, analysis, and communication of agricultural investigations. Discusses the ethics of research, and evaluation methods. Students will be offered the opportunity to conduct agricultural studies using a variety of methods.

Soil microbiome - Nematode - Plant interactions.
FESEHA ABEBE-AKELE, Elizabeth City State University
Nematodes graze/forage on bacteria, fungi, and plant tissue. Determining the species abundance of nematodes in soil and mapping their interactions with microorganisms and plants is important to diagnose soil fertility and potential of crop damage from plant parasitic nematodes. Sampling different types of soil and characterizing the microbial and nematode species will allow students to learn the ecological as well as molecular aspects of research in soil-bacteria-nematode and plant interactions.

Secondary Data Analysis to Explore Health Equity in a Psychological Framework
Anna Lee, North Carolina A & T State University
This class will provide students with the opportunity to conduct a research project to examine psycho-social factors related to health equity in North Carolina communities. Students will work in small groups to pose a novel question, analyze data using a publicly available dataset. and report findings. Over arching course goals are to write a complete APA formatted research report, to conduct a secondary data analysis, and to present findings.

Understanding Noncovalent Interactions and Binding through PRRSM
Amanda Hargrove, Duke University
This CURE was designed to increase instruction on noncovalent interactions and intermolecular forces, provide laboratory experiences in biochemistry and chemical biology, and deliver a more consistent chemistry research experience to undergraduates at Duke University while staying within the existing curriculum. First, the concept of noncovalent interactions is visualized in an applied setting by examining 3D structures of small molecule:RNA interactions through a portable virtual reality (VR) environment. Next, using knowledge gained in the Hargrove lab regarding small molecule:RNA interactions along with the literature examples, teams of students evaluate known small molecule:RNA interactions, pose original scientific questions, and design a hypothesis-driven experiment that can be readily tested with commercially available materials using a standard fluorimeter or plate reader. These experiments directly contribute to research that examines patterns in the recognition of RNA structure by small molecules, and the students are able to assess their contribution to this ongoing interdisciplinary project.

Introducing hands on concepts of Mammalian Cell Culture and in vitro drug studies in Undergraduate course shells.
HIRENDRA BANERJEE, Elizabeth City State University
The process of learning is both visual and auditory and in the STEM fields, hands on and practicums enhances student learning, retention and understanding of the complex scientific concepts than just memorizing facts from class room lectures. Thus we plan to implement short hands on research modules in our Cell Biology and Human Physiology courses involving projects teaching students with mammalian cell culture techniques and in vitro drug testing skills. Students will learn to culture mammalian cancer cell lines with culture mediums and maintain the cultures in carbon dioxide incubators at ideal temperature, they will then treat them with novel anti cancer compounds to test the efficacy of these drugs and the IC50 doses(dose at which 50% cells dies).The data obtained will be statistically analyzed and results reviewed to study whether it aligns with the hypothesis and specific aims; students will then present their findings in a small research paper and short seminars in class along with their peers, they will be graded according to a rubric that will be provided to them in the beginning of the research experience process. Thus this process will align with CURE objectives of REU incorporation in undergraduate courses.

Integration of a nanoparticles-based biosensing assay into a capillary column
Swarnapali Indrasekara, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
In this CURE project, junior and senior level chemistry students will be introduced to nanochemistry and its application in interdisciplinary research. Students will learn the use of chemistry concepts they have already learnt and also new spectroscopy and physical chemistry concepts. They will use that knowledge to develop an optical biosensor using nanoparticles in a capillary column as a potential point-of-care assay format.

Animal Genome to Phenome - A CURE for food security
Mulumebet Worku, North Carolina A & T State University