CURE Examples
Discipline
Core Competencies Show all
Developing and using models
14 matchesNature of Research
State
Core CompetenciesResults 1 - 10 of 14 matches
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.
Core Competencies: Developing and using models, Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering), Planning and carrying out investigations, Using mathematics and computational thinking, Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering), Analyzing and interpreting data
Nature of Research: Applied Research
State: North Carolina
Target Audience: Major, Non-major, Upper Division
CURE Duration: A full term
Design2Data
Ashley Vater, University of California-Davis
The D2D program is centered around an undergraduate-friendly protocol workflow that follows the design-build-test-learn engineering framework. This protocol has served as the scaffold for a successful undergraduate training program and has been further developed into courses that range from a 10-week freshman seminar to a year-long, upper-division molecular biology course. The overarching research goal of this CURE probes the current predictive limitations of protein-modeling software by functionally characterizing single amino acid mutants in a robust model system. The most interesting outcomes of this project are dependent on large datasets, and, as such, the project is optimal for multi-institutional collaborations.
Core Competencies: Using mathematics and computational thinking, Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering), Analyzing and interpreting data, Planning and carrying out investigations, Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering), Developing and using models
Nature of Research: Wet Lab/Bench Research, Basic Research, Applied Research
Target Audience: Upper Division, Non-major, Major, Introductory
CURE Duration: A full term, Multiple terms
Laser spectroscopy of atmospherically relevant molecules and clusters in helium nanodroplets
Paul Raston, James Madison University
Superfluid helium nanodroplets present an ideal medium for the study of chemical dynamics at the molecular level. Their low temperature, enormous heat conductivity, and weakly interacting nature allow for the investigation of various things, such as how molecular rotation is effected by a solvent, and how molecules interact with each other. These two topics will be addressed in the lab by (1) measuring the spectra of unexplored molecules in helium nanodroplets and determining their rotational constants; this data will then be used to test known models describing the interaction between the molecule and helium solvent, and (2) synthesizing and characterizing unexplored molecular clusters in an effort to better understand molecular solvation; students will solvate the "unexplored molecule" with an atmospherically relevant species (O2, N2, H2O), and investigate the resulting clusters with laser Stark spectroscopy.
Core Competencies: Using mathematics and computational thinking, Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering), Analyzing and interpreting data, Developing and using models, Planning and carrying out investigations, Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering)
Nature of Research: Basic Research
State: Virginia
Target Audience: Upper Division, Non-major, Major
CURE Duration: A few class periods, Multiple terms
BIOL 189T Fungal Biology
Alija Mujic, California State University-Fresno
The diversity, community structure, and functional diversity of fungi in the high Sierra is understudied and is largely unknown from the Sierra Nevada foothills. Through use of direct field sampling I will engage BIOL189T students in sampling efforts to elucidate the fungal biology of these understudied habitats. Students will sample fungal sporocarps (mushrooms) from existing field plots established by the National Environmental Observation Network (NEON) and use morphological identification techniques and DNA barcoding methods to identify the fungal diversity in these habitats. Future iterations of the course will likely focus upon selected fungal taxa identified in previous iterations of the course to investigate the phenology and ecological interactions of the fungal community in these habitats in NEON plots.
Core Competencies: Planning and carrying out investigations, Analyzing and interpreting data, Developing and using models, Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering)
Nature of Research: Basic Research, Field Research, Wet Lab/Bench Research
State: California
Target Audience: Upper Division, Major
CURE Duration: A full term
Using R to Build Powerful Predictive Models for Kaggle Competitions
Earvin Balderama, California State University-Fresno
Core Competencies: Using mathematics and computational thinking, Analyzing and interpreting data, Developing and using models
Nature of Research: Informatics/Computational Research, Applied Research
State: California
Target Audience: Non-major, Major, Upper Division
CURE Duration: A full term
Optimizing Pedal People
Annie Raymond, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
This course is an introduction to mathematical modeling. The main goal of the class is to learn how to translate large broadly-defined real-world problems into quantitative terms for interpretation, suggestions of improvement and future predictions. Since this is too broad of a topic for one semester, this class focuses on linear and integer programming. The course is centered around a research project that involves optimizing different aspects of the bike-powered trash-recycling-compost-collection service Pedal People.
State: Massachusetts
CURE Duration: A full term
Yeast, metabolism and suicide: a brewing introduction to biochemical research
Laurent Dejean, California State University-Fresno
This course provides the student with a range of techniques and methodology appropriate to the study or phenomena at the biochemical, cellular, and organismic levels. In the spirit of genuine undergraduate research (CURE), the students will be involved directly in research that is ongoing in the Dejean's lab, i.e. the study of the mechanisms used by Bcl-2 family proteins to cross-regulate cell death and energy metabolism. The students' involvement in this type of research will be following a set of preliminary experiments which are aimed at familiarizing the students with common biochemistry lab skills; and with the manipulation of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae which is to be used as the main model system in their research. Finally, the students will also engage directly with primary literature sources in preparation of their lab reports and an eventual presentation of their research at the Fresno State CURE symposium at the end of the semester.
Core Competencies: Analyzing and interpreting data, Developing and using models, Planning and carrying out investigations
Nature of Research: Basic Research, Wet Lab/Bench Research
State: California
Target Audience: Major, Upper Division
A CURE Project for STEM Education at HBCU - Surface Pattern Design for Chemical Mechanical Polishing Pad
ZHICHAO LI, North Carolina A & T State University
Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process is widespread employed in many manufacturing industries such as semiconductor and aerospace. The objective of the present CURE project is to introduce the specific advanced manufacturing process to sophomore and junior students at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University. The CURE course will be combined and implemented through the course of ISEN324 (Computer Aided Design and Computer Aided Manufacture). Students in this CURE course will experience a basic training on how to conduct engineering research and development activities in manufacturing industry, develop skills in engineering design and precision manufacturing, and obtain capabilities in applying STEM knowledge to analyze and resolve engineering problems in real industry through modeling, simulation and optimization research steps.
Core Competencies: Analyzing and interpreting data, Using mathematics and computational thinking, Developing and using models
Nature of Research: Applied Research
State: North Carolina
Target Audience: Major, Introductory
CURE Duration: A full term
Emerging Contaminants in Arizona
Frank Marfai, Phoenix College
Core Competencies: Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering), Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering), Analyzing and interpreting data, Using mathematics and computational thinking, Developing and using models
Nature of Research: Basic Research, Applied Research
State: Arizona
Target Audience: Introductory, Upper Division, Non-major, Major
CURE Duration: Multiple terms, A full term
Extraction of Lycopene and other Antioxidants from Tomatoes
Marion Franks, North Carolina A & T State University
This CURE is focused on exposing undergraduate students to the use of chemical instrumentation to observe the composition of antioxidants in natural products. Students will learn how to read scientific literature, develop a hypothesis, plan research, interpret data, and relate the data to ongoing phenomenon.
Core Competencies: Developing and using models, Planning and carrying out investigations, Analyzing and interpreting data, Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering)
Nature of Research: Applied Research
Target Audience: Non-major, Major, Upper Division
CURE Duration: Half a term