By Neil Nachbar

Five University of Rhode Island engineering students are among the 62 undergraduates who have been selected from nine local colleges and universities for this year’s URI Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program.

The following engineering students will spend 10 weeks conducting intensive research.

Shawn Carlson
Major: Chemical engineering
Mentor: Dr. Arijit Bose
Project: Algae-surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (A-SERS) based detection of nitrates and phosphates in water

Stephanie Sandin
Majors: Chemical engineering and German (IEP)
Mentor: Dr. Daniel Roxbury
Project: Multiplexed optical detection of heavy metal contaminants in plants

Klara Szilagyi
Major: Biomedical engineering
Mentor: Dr. Yalda Shahriari
Project: Brain-computer interfaces (BCI)

Raymond Turrisi
Majors: Mechanical engineering and French (IEP)
Mentor: Dr. Mingxi Zhou
Project: Enhancing the Narragansett Bay Observatory with unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs)

Tanner Wildfong
Major: Biomedical engineering
Mentor: Dr. Geoff Bothun
Project: Lab-to-field: Nanostructured sensors for monitoring pollutants in coastal ecosystems

The SURF program is supported by the Rhode Island Idea Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (RI INBRE) and the Rhode Island National Science Foundation Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (RI NSF EPSCoR) grant. Both federally funded programs are based at URI. The program is intended to help students:

• Develop professional relationships with faculty and graduate students
• Gain hands-on experience with active Coastal Ecology Assessment Innovation & Modeling research projects
• Become familiarized with complex labs and field equipment
• Learn about topics such as applying to grad school and communicating research effectively

“SURF offers undergraduates the opportunity to take part in ‘graduate level’ research,” said Jim Lemire, SURF program coordinator and professor in Roger Williams University’s Feinstein School of Social and Natural Sciences. “Students are provided an experience that will help advance their budding research careers, whether it be in graduate school or in industry.”

Working with a Mentor

Turrisi, who enrolled at URI in the spring semester of 2018, appreciates the opportunity to conduct high-level research as an undergraduate.

“What I love about the SURF program is that it provides a sandbox for the student to tackle problems under a mentor,” said Turrisi. “You have to be able to ask qualitative questions and then find your own answers through reading high level papers or through experimentation.”

Turrisi is interested in a career in robotics and mechatronics. His research project will present the opportunity to enhance the skills needed in that industry.

“Ray is an excellent undergraduate researcher and a good mechanical designer,” said URI Graduate School of Oceanography Assistant Professor Mingxi Zhou, Turrisi’s mentor. “He has been challenged to design a new type of unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) propulsion system, which will be integrated on to commercially available UUVs and the prototype UUV which is under construction in my lab.”

Turrisi’s previous lab experience came in the spring 2019 semester, while working as an undergraduate research assistant in the Dynamic Photomechanics Laboratory, under Simon Ostrach Distinguished Professor Arun Shukla.

“From the moment I walked into the lab, I really liked the environment that Dr. Shukla has created,” recalled Turrisi, who is from West Warwick. “He challenges and pushes his students to do their best work and is engaged with them as much as he can be.”

“Ray is a highly motivated, intelligent and hard-working student,” said Shukla, who teaches in URI’s Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Systems Engineering. “It is a pleasure to have him work in my lab.”

Researching a Topic of Interest

Sandin, a rising senior from Warwick, is excited to use her research to improve the ecosystem.

“This project captured my interest because I will have the opportunity to help the Narragansett Bay ecosystem by detecting environmental contaminants that hinder aquatic species,” said Sandin. “I also hope to further develop my knowledge and capabilities in lab technologies and applications.”

SURF will be Carlson’s first experience in a research lab.

“I’m looking forward to using machines and instruments that I wouldn’t otherwise get to use,” said Carlson, a rising junior from Wakefield, Massachusetts. “I’m interested in the environmental side of chemical engineering and saw this as a great way to get my foot in the door.”

Like the others, Wildfong viewed the summer research program as an opportunity to pursue a topic he’s interested in, while honing his skills in the lab.

“The SURF program is a great fit for me because I’m able to engineer a nano-sensor that will detect pollutants in the ocean while developing my research skills,” said the rising junior from Longmeadow, Massachusetts.

Szilagyi is the only engineering student who will be researching a topic that is unrelated to the coastal ecology.

“I hope to further my understanding of neural engineering, while exploring different career paths within biomedical engineering,” said Szilagyi, an East Providence resident.

A Track Record of Success

RI INBRE has offered summer research opportunities at URI and Brown University since 2001 to qualified undergraduate students who are considering a career in biomedical and behavioral research.

Since 2007, RI EPSCoR has supported more than 380 students through the SURF program.

“What began as a handful of students being paid to work in some labs at Brown University, URI, RWU and Providence College, has grown into a state-wide partnership with the RI INBRE program and nine Rhode Island colleges,” stated Lemire, the SURF program coordinator.

Final Presentations

The students will present the results of their summer research at the Rhode Island SURF Conference on July 26, 2019, in URI’s Avedisian Hall.